Ukraine faces intense, drawn-out battles on multiple fronts — military

Ivan Tymochko, head of the Council of Reservists of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, stated this on Espreso TV.

"From their line of the front, Russia is focusing on three main directions of advance into the Donetsk region—from the southeast, south, and southwest. The situation is extremely serious and complex, considering both the weather conditions and the specific nature of the Russian offensive. Fighting in these directions has been ongoing for quite some time, which means this entire territory has been severely devastated, creating its own specific challenges for conducting combat operations. Ukraine's Defense Forces in this direction have significantly slowed the advance of Russian forces," Ivan Tymochko commented.

According to him, regarding Huliaipole, Ukrainian forces hold all the commanding heights there. Russian troops have failed to quickly seize control of the town. And the railway junction, which Russia had hoped to use for future logistics, has unfortunately already been destroyed.

"The Oleksandrivka direction is a flanking direction relative to the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration, and I think it's clear why Russian forces are actively advancing here. First, it's a military requirement—to expand the flanks around this agglomeration, and they're also trying to create an information noise suggesting that Oleksandrivka is being considered as a springboard for advancing into central and southern regions of Ukraine. Of course, the Russians are trying to present this as a done deal, but their ability to concentrate personnel, as in Huliaipole, is proving problematic. Combat operations of extraordinarily high intensity continue," noted the head of the Council of Reservists of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

In his opinion, the current nature of the fighting is both intense and prolonged due to frost and snow. Russian forces try to hide in various crevices, using darkness to infiltrate, accumulate, and advance. Therefore, Ukrainian defenders must constantly track and eliminate Russian troops.

"Russia views Kostiantynivka as a bridgehead for an offensive on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. In addition, it's also a flanking direction from the east relative to Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, where Russian forces planned to occupy this town last year at this same time. But as of now, they haven't even reached the boundaries or defensive areas of the city. Of course, Russia needs Kostiantynivka because they hope to close their offensive formations in the Donetsk region and southern Ukraine. Let's not forget that combat operations continue in other directions as well—Vovchansk, in the Yampil area. Russia hasn't abandoned its intentions to attack our positions and hasn't given up on a general assault along the entire front line; the question here is one of intensity," Tymochko concluded.

• During the day on January 21, 154 combat engagements were recorded on the Russian-Ukrainian front. In the Pokrovsk direction, Ukraine's Defense Forces repelled 38 Russian assaults, and in the Huliaipole direction—they repelled 36 Russian attacks.