AFU defending in most axes. Situation at front

64 combat clashes were recorded at the front during the day. The defenders of Ukraine are "exhausting" the russian troops in the Melitopol axis, entrenching at the reached boundaries in the Bakhmut axis and conducting a counter-battery fight on the eastern bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson Region, repelling the attacks of the russian army in most axes.

This was announced on December 18 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook.

Aviation of the Defense Forces struck the area of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment and the enemy's anti-aircraft missile systems.

Units of the missile forces hit four areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, artillery and ammunition warehouse of the russians.

In total, the enemy carried out 2 missile and 29 air strikes, carried out 47 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of our troops and populated areas. As a result of russian terrorist attacks, there are killed and wounded among the civilian population. Private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.

Petropavlivka, Kharkiv Region; Terny, Zvanivka, Novobakhmutivka, Avdiyivka, Novomykhaylivka, Paraskoviyivka, Donetsk Region; Krynky, Olhivka, Kherson Region, suffered airstrikes.

More than 100 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv Regions came under artillery fire.

According to the General Staff, the operational situation in the Volyn and Polissia axes remains without significant changes.

In the Siversk and Slobozhanshchyna axes, the enemy maintains a military presence in the border areas, conducts active diversionary activities in order to prevent the transfer of our troops to threatening directions, and increases the density of mine and explosive barriers along the state border in the Belgorod Oblast.

In the Kupyansk axis, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled 9 enemy attacks in the areas of Synkivka and east of Petropavlivka, Kharkiv Region.

In the Lyman axis, the Defense Forces repelled 8 attacks by the russian federation near Makiyivka in the Luhansk Region and east of Terny in the Donetsk Region.

In the Bakhmut axis, our soldiers repelled 5 enemy attacks in the Bohdanivka, Klishchiyivka and Andriyivka areas of the Donetsk Region. The Defense Forces continue to inflict losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment, and are entrenching at the achieved frontiers.

In the Avdiyivka axis, Ukrainian defenders continue to hold back the enemy, who does not stop trying to surround Avdiyivka. Our soldiers firmly hold the defense, inflicting significant losses on the occupiers. So, 16 enemy attacks east of Novobakhmutivka, Stepove, Avdiyivka, and another 11 - south of Tonenke, Nevelske and Pervomayske of the Donetsk Region were repelled.

In the Maryinka axis, the Defense Forces continue to contain the russian federation in the Novomykhaylivka area of the Donetsk Region, where 4 attacks were repelled.

The enemy did not conduct offensive (assault) actions in the Shakhtarsk axis.

In the Zaporizhzhia axis, the Defense Forces repelled 4 enemy attacks west of Verbove and Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia Region.

In the Melitopol axis, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to actively inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupation troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line.

In the Kherson axis, the Defense Forces will continue to maintain occupied positions on the left bank of the Dnieper, conduct a counter-battery fight, and inflict fire damage on the rear of the russians.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, previously the spokeswoman of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Defense Forces of the South, Nataliya Humeniuk, stated that during the occupation of the left bank of the Kherson Region, the russians were able to concentrate an extremely large number of personnel and equipment there, but the work of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is progressing - it is regular, powerful and devastating for enemy resources.