Overview
- The Southern Defence Forces report that a significant portion of Huliaipole remains under Ukrainian control despite very difficult conditions.
- Russian troops are conducting repeated urban assaults supported by kamikaze drones, artillery, guided aerial bombs and unguided rockets.
- Ukraine says Russian forces lost more than 300 personnel and about 60 pieces of equipment in Huliaipole on December 28.
- Defensive operations continue in nearby Stepnohirsk, where part of the settlement remains under Ukrainian control as Russian units attempt to infiltrate along the main road.
- Ukrainian authorities dispute Russian statements claiming the capture of Huliaipole and Myrnohrad, casting them as an information effort possibly timed to upcoming U.S.–Ukraine diplomatic meetings.