AFU approach Kreminna, Russian forces prepare to defend themselves near Luhansk - General Staff

Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff, said this during a briefing at the Military Media Center.

According to him, information about the gradual preparation of defensive lines around Luhansk is being spread among the officers of the headquarters of the 2nd Russian Army Corps stationed in Luhansk.

At the same time, it is noted that if the Ukrainian Defense Forces break through the Russian troops' defensive lines on the Svatove-Kreminna line and, accordingly, move the fighting closer to Luhansk, a significant part of the servicemen of the 2nd Army Corps, especially from among those mobilized in the temporarily occupied territories, plans to surrender.

• On December 7, the head of the Severodonetsk District Administration, Vlasenko, said that Kreminna is a bridgehead for the further liberation of the Luhansk region. “Kreminna is located separately from the Rubizhne - Severodonetsk - Lysychansk triangle. During the occupation, Kreminna was on the sidelines. Therefore, this city can become a good springboard for the further liberation of the Luhansk region.”

• On December 21, Haidai stated that Ukraine's Armed Forces had established a foothold in Bilohorivka and were making progress from Svatove to Kreminna. 

• On December 24, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhii Haidai, said that the Russian forces had taken out the occupation administration from the city of Svatove. 

• As of December 26, Deep State analysts write that in the Luhansk region in the Svatove - Kreminna area, positional battles are ongoing. The Russian troops have transferred additional forces to the sector, in particular, mercenaries from the Wagner PMC.