【Russian Forces Say They Have Controlled Seversk, Putin: Russian Forces Have Fully Gained the Initiative】On December 11 local time, Russian President Putin held a video conference meeting on the situation in the special military operation zone against Ukraine, listening to the report from the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Gerasimov, on the latest front situation. At the meeting, Gerasimov reported that the Russian forces had controlled Seversk in the Donetsk region, and the operation was carried out by the "Southern" Group Army troops.
Putin said at the meeting that the Russian forces currently "have the initiative in all directions," and expressed gratitude to all the soldiers involved in the operation. He specifically mentioned that the commander of the "Southern" Group Army, Sergei Medvedev, had promised to capture Seversk by December 15, saying, "He kept his word, he is a real man."
Gerasimov pointed out that capturing Seversk has created conditions for the Russian forces to further advance towards the Slavyansk direction. Currently, the Russian side is carrying out operations to clear out small groups of remaining Ukrainian forces within the city.
In other directions, the Russian forces also claimed to continue their progress. According to the meeting report:
The "Western" Group Army continues to attack the surrounded Ukrainian forces in the Kupiansk direction and has already controlled Kucherivka and Kurylovka;
The "Northern" Group Army is expanding the depth of the security area in the border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions;
The "Eastern" Group Army continues to advance in multiple directions in the southern part of Dnipropetrovsk region after crossing the Gaychur River;
In the Zaporozhye direction, the Russian forces continue to fight in Novobavlovka and have launched street fighting in Gulievo.
Putin summarized that the Russian forces "are steadily advancing along the entire front line" and are building a security buffer zone along the Ukrainian border as planned.
Seversk is located to the southwest of the Serebryansky Forest area, which has been a long-term site of fierce fighting since 2022. The Russian side believes that controlling this city will strengthen its ability to approach the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration from the northeast. This area is considered one of the most important defense systems of the Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region, and the current advances of the Russian forces in directions such as Konstantinovka have further increased the pressure on this front line. #Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851299905121292/
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