Russia’s war on Ukraine. 22.12.25
Operational situation
On the Northern Slobozhansky Direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted a localized cross-border raid in the border zone of Belgorod Oblast and advanced into a forested area northeast of Mukhin.
Russian forces infiltrated into the area south of Oleksiivka, attacked near Kindrativka, Varachyne, and Hrabovske, and advanced in the direction of Ryasne.
On the Southern Slobozhansky direction, Russian forces attacked near Sotnytsky Kozachok, Vovchansk, Vilcha, Prylipka, Izbytske, Hryhorivka, Dvorichanske, and in the direction of Obukhivka.
On the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces attacked near Petropavlivka, Stepova Novoselivka, Kurylivka, Hlushkivka, Pishchane, Novoplatonivka, Nova Kruhlyakivka, Bohuslavka, Novoyehorivka, Olhivka, Druzhelyubivka, and Stepove, and hold positions south of Zelenyi Hai and west of Serhiivka and Novovodyane.
On the Lyman direction, Russian forces hold positions in the southeastern part of Lyman, north and south of Serednie, northeast of Drobysheve, and in the eastern part of Novomykhailivka. They attacked near and inside Lyman, near Serednie, in the direction of Drobysheve and Korovyi Yar, and near Ridkodub, Stavky, Kolodyazi, and Zarichne.
On the Sloviansk direction, Russian forces advanced to the T0513 Siversk–Lyman highway between Lyman and Zakitne, and attacked near Siversk, Yampil, Dronivka, Zakitne, Kuzmynivka, Vyimka, and Bondarne.
On the Kostyantynivka direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces advanced north of Shcherbynivka.
Russian forces operate northwest of Predtechyne, attacked near and inside Kostyantynivka, in the direction of Virolyubivka and Minkivka, and near Oleksandro-Shultyne, Pleshchiivka, Kleban-Byk, Stepanivka, Rusyn Yar, and Sofiivka.
On the Pokrovsk direction, Russian forces operate in the northwestern part of Myrnohrad, attempted to advance along the railway west of Pokrovsk and northwest of Udachne, and attacked near Shakhove, Nove Shakhove, Zaporizhzhia, near and inside Pokrovsk, near Hryshyne, Rodynske, Sukhetske, near and within Myrnohrad, and near Kotlyne and Molodetske.
Ukrainian Defense Forces advanced along the M30 Selydove–Pokrovsk highway on the western outskirts of Pokrovsk and liberated areas on the western outskirts of the city.
On the Oleksandrivka direction, Russian forces attempted to advance northwest of Novomykolayivka and attacked near Novopavlivka, Novoserhiyivka, Filiya, Dachne, Zelenyi Hai, Andriivka-Klevtsove, Ivanivka, Piddubne, Oleksandrohrad, Sosnivka, Verbove, Pryvilne, Sichneve, and Vyshneve.
Ukrainian Defense Forces struck enemy units attempting to infiltrate northwest of Ivanivka.
On the Huliaypole Direction, Russian forces attempted to advance in the northwestern, central, and southwestern parts of Huliaypole, south of the city, east of and in the center of Andriivka, east of Zelene, and attacked in the direction of Ternuvate, near Radisne, Herasymivka, Andriivka, Nove Zaporizhzhia, Dobropillya, Ostapivske, in the direction of Zelene, Varvarivka, Bratske, and Kosivtseve, and near Zlahoda, Pryvilne, and Rybne.
Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacked near Huliaypole and Dobropillya.
On the Orikhiv direction, Russian forces attacked near Novoandriivka, Shcherbaky, Mali Shcherbaky, Stepove, Stepnohirsk, and Prymorske.
On the Prydniprovske Direction, Russian forces attacked near the Antonivskyi Bridge.
General conclusion:
Units of the enemy’s 34th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 49th Combined Arms Army conduct a new information and psychological operation through localized cross-border attacks across a wide section of the previously quiet northern front line in Sumy Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast. The occupiers entered the village of Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast and deported approximately 50 local residents from there to the territory of the Russian Federation for filtration.
Another localized cross-border raid was conducted by the enemy using two groups of up to 15 servicemen each in the area of the village of Sotnytsky Kozachok in Kharkiv Oblast.
Russian forces have not adopted the tactic of preemptively targeting Defense Forces logistics in northern Sumy Oblast or Kharkiv Oblast, as they have done in the Pokrovsk and Huliaypole directions.
Russian actions in the border zone are local provocations, not major invasions or large-scale military operations.
Change in the line of contact (LoC), directions of attacks and counterattacks:
There were 223 combat engagements on various fronts.
On the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursk directions, three Russian attacks took place.
On the Southern Slobozhansky and Kursk directions, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 16 enemy attacks in the areas of Vovchansk, Prylipka, Dvorichanske, and in the directions of Izbytske, Vilcha, and Obukhivka.
On the Kupyansk Direction, six enemy attacks occurred. Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled enemy assault actions in the directions of Kurylivka, Petropavlivka, Pishchane, and Hlushkivka.
On the Lyman direction, the enemy attacked 19 times, attempting to advance in the directions of Druzhelyubivka, Stavky, Novoserhiyivka, Korovyi Yar, Stepove, Olhivka, Lyman, and Drobysheve, as well as in the area of Zarichne.
On the Sloviansk direction, five assaults by occupying forces were repelled near Yampil and Siversk.
On the Kostyantynivka direction, the enemy carried out 30 attacks in the areas of Minkivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Virolyubivka, Oleksandro-Shultyne, Pleshchiivka, Kleban-Byk, Kostyantynivka, Rusyn Yar, and in the directions of Sofiivka and Stepanivka.
On the Pokrovsk direction, 57 combat engagements occurred in the areas of Shakhove, Rodynske, Sukhetske, Pokrovsk, Kotlyne, Udachne, Molodetske, Filiya, and in the directions of Hryshyne, Dorizhne, Novopidhorodnie, Serhiivka, Nove Shakhove, and Novopavlivka.
On the Oleksandrivka direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces stopped 17 enemy attempts to break through their defensive lines in the areas of Oleksandrohrad, Sichneve, Sosnivka, Pryvilne, Rybne, Pershotravneve, and in the directions of Andriivka-Klevtsove and Ivanivka.
On the Huliaypole Direction, the aggressor attempted to advance 11 times in the area of Huliaypole.
On the Orikhiv Direction, eight enemy attacks were repelled in the areas of Stepove, Shcherbaky, Mali Shcherbaky, Stepnohirsk, and in the directions of Novoandriivka and Prymorske.
On the Prydniprovske Direction, the enemy made two unsuccessful attempts to approach the positions of Ukrainian units.
Supporting operation:
Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out UAV strikes against the Taman sea terminal in the village of Volna, Temriuk District, Krasnodar Krai.
Changes in the enemy disposition:
The 4th Battalion of the 1st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation operates near Oleksiivka. Russian military command deployed the 22nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 44th Army Corps near Bilovody; its units are manned with servicemen whose treatment after wounds and illnesses has not been completed.
The 2nd Battalion of the 1st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation operates near Vovchansk.
The 237th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Combined Arms Army advances toward Lyman.
The 6th and 123rd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigades of the 3rd Combined Arms Army operate near Sviato-Pokrovske; artillery of the 88th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade strikes Ukrainian forces south of Riznykivka; the 169th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 25th Combined Arms Army operates near Yampil.
The 27th Artillery Regiment of the 6th Motorized Rifle Division of the 3rd Army Corps and the 103rd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Combined Arms Army strike near and within Kostyantynivka.
The 163rd Tank Regiment of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Combined Arms Army operates near Toretske.
The 1435th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Combined Arms Army operates in Svitle; elements of the 76th Air Assault Division operate in Pokrovsk; the 268th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of the 27th Motorized Rifle Division of the 2nd Combined Arms Army operates on the Pokrovsk Direction.
The 36th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Combined Arms Army strikes Ukrainian positions east of Vidradne.
The 14th Separate SOF Brigade strikes Ukrainian positions near Ternuvate and Rizdvyanka.
The 108th Air Assault Regiment of the 7th Air Assault Division strikes Ukrainian forces west of Prymorske and in Prymorske. Elements of the 104th Air Assault Division conduct training in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The 98th Airborne Division strikes cellular towers in the city of Kherson. The 33rd BARS Detachment operates in Kherson Oblast.
Possible operation situation developments:
On the Southern Slobozhanske Direction, the enemy will attempt to complete the occupation of Vovchansk, completely push units of Ukrainian Defense Forces out of the southern part of the city, attempt to break through in the area of Tsehelne toward the Vovchansk–Staryi Saltiv road and the highway to Rubizhne with the forces of a tactical grouping formed from elements of the 6th Combined Arms Army, the 11th and the 44th Army Corps. All of this will significantly slow the advance of the troops toward Bilyi Kolodyaz and southward along the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets, in the direction of Verkhnya Pysarivka and Buhayivka.
On the Kupyansk Direction, the enemy will hold its bridgehead in the Dvorichna area north of Kupyansk and simultaneously will develop an offensive by the 47th Tank Division of the 1st Tank Army east of the city. If the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation decides to restore the status quo in Kupyansk, the command of the “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping will require significant additional reserves; therefore, the redeployment of the 104th Air Assault Division from the Prydniprovske Direction to the Kupyansk Direction should be expected. The 6th Combined Arms Army will attempt to envelop the defense area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine around Kolodyazne and will continue attacking in the Milove–Ambarne and Krasne Pershe–Novovasylivka directions. Using its bridgehead on the Oskil River, the army’s forces will attempt to break through in the Dvorichna–Ridkodub direction. The development of the 6th Combined Arms Army’s offensive will be complicated by an operational disposition stretched from Vovchansk to Kupyansk, which will reduce operational troop densities, as well as by the active involvement of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division in the fighting in Kupyansk. An advance by the army toward Velykyi Burluk in the near term will be possible with minimal chances of operational success and only if the operational reserve of the enemy “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping is committed (likely forces of the 14th Army Corps) or if the 68th Motorized Rifle Division is regrouped from the Kupyansk direction to the Velyki Burluk direction.
The command of the enemy “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping in the near will term be forced to seek additional reserves for the occupation of Kupyansk and may reinforce its tactical group in Kupyansk by involving forces of the 1st Tank Army (the 4th and 47th Tank Divisions, the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division, and the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade), but any regrouping to the Kupyansk area will weaken the 1st Tank Army on other directions.
On the Lyman Direction, the enemy, using forces of the 20th Combined Arms Army, seeks to fully take control of the Yarova–Novoselivka–Drobysheve–Pryshyb area and to block all lines of communication leading from Lyman to the northwest in the direction of Izium along the northern bank of the Siverskyi Donets. The enemy will be breaking through to the Siverskyi Donets in the area of Ozerne and will attempt to seize the village of Dibrova in order to create a favorable starting position for launching an assault on Lyman from the south and southeast. In addition, through actions on this Direction, the enemy seeks to support the 3rd Combined Arms Army, which is advancing toward Sloviansk along the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets. The enemy will continue active attacks in the southern part of the offensive zone of the 25th Combined Arms Army in order to develop success to the east and southeast of Lyman and to reach and secure positions along the Dibrova–Ozerne line. The enemy will attempt to penetrate as deeply as possible into the eastern and southeastern parts of Lyman using small infantry groups. By maintaining control of a bridgehead on the Siverskyi Donets in this area, Ukrainian Defense Forces will make it much more challenging for the enemy to launch an offensive towards Sloviansk from this direction. The troops of the 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies of the enemy’s “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping will continue offensive actions north and east of Lyman in order to isolate the area of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine around the city from the northwest and north and to reach the Siverskyi Donets River south of the city in the Raihorodka–Zakitne sector. The enemy’s main tactical tasks are to capture Zakitne and to consolidate on the dominant heights.
On the Sloviansk Direction, the 3rd Combined Arms Army will attempt to break through from the Dronivka–Siversk line to the Zakytne–Riznykivka–Kalenyky–Kryva Luka area, which significantly simplifies the task of the adjacent 25th Combined Arms Army, which is advancing toward Lyman north of the Siverskyi Donets. The main task of the 3rd Combined Arms Army is to advance to maximum depth along the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets in the western direction, which will allow the command of the “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping not only to concentrate the main forces of the 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies on the assault on Lyman without diverting them to block the positions of Ukrainian Defense Forces along the river, but also to ensure maneuver of forces in the zones of the 3rd, 20th, and 25th Combined Arms Armies across the Siverskyi Donets outside the fire influence of Ukrainian Defense Forces. In operational terms, the enemy offensive toward Sloviansk will to some extent develop frontally and currently has the best chances of success on both the Lyman and Siversk Directions, namely reaching the near approaches to Sloviansk. Ukrainian Defense Forces will address not so much the problem of holding Siversk as seeking opportunities to slow the enemy advance along the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River toward Raihorodka and Sloviansk.
The enemy’s “Yug (South)” Operational Grouping will attack in the directions of Oleksiyevo-Druzhkivka and Druzhkivka, attempting to cut the H20 highway Kostyantynivka–Sloviansk, which will complicate the logistics of the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ 19th Army Corps in Kostyantynivka. The enemy will deliver concentric strikes simultaneously from Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, the Kleban-Byk Reservoir, and from the Poltavka–Yablunivka line. The enemy’s naval infantry grouping operating on the adjacent flank of the 8th and 51st Combined Arms Armies will attempt to break through from the southwest to the near approaches of Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka, bypassing them from the west. The enemy’s 3rd Army Corps and the formations of the 8th Combined Arms Army will attempt to break through toward Kostyantynivka, reach the T0504 road, and ease their advance toward Kostyantynivka through Predtechyne and Stupochky. In the area southeast of Kostyantynivka, the enemy will attempt to create an informational pretext regarding a “successful start of the battle for the capture of Kostyantynivka” and will try to isolate the units of Ukrainian Defense Forces’ 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the 11th Army Corps, which continue to successfully defend the Chasiv Yar area, from the defense area in Kostyantynivka. The enemy’s “Yug (South)” Operational Grouping will attempt break through to the Novodmytrivka–Chervone line in an attempt to completely collapse Ukrainian defenses in the Chasiv Yar area by applying pressure from the south.
On the Oleksandrivka and Huliaypole Directions, the enemy’s “Vostok (East)” Operational Grouping will attempt to envelop the Huliaypole defensive area of Ukrainian Defense Forces from the north, block its main lines of communication, reach the Huliaypole–Pokrovske road on the Dobropillya–Varvarivka section, reach the Khaychur River, force it in the Danylivka–Dobropillya area, and encircle Huliaypole from the northwest. Forces of the 36th Combined Arms Army and elements of the right flank of the 5th Combined Arms Army will attempt to break through toward Pokrovske from the southeast. Through active offensive actions in the Danylivka area, the enemy will attempt to isolate the 102nd Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukrainian Defense Forces in Huliaypole from the main forces in the Pokrovske–Oleksandrivka area.
On the Orikhiv Direction, the enemy is capable of creating an operational breakthrough toward Novomykolayivka to bypass the Orikhiv defensive area from the north. Russian military command in the Southwestern theater of military operations will attempt to collapse the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine southeast of Zaporizhzhia and break through to its near approaches, to be achieved by simultaneous advances toward Zaporizhzhia both from the east, from the Donetsk side along the Donetsk–Zaporizhzhia highway, and from the south. The enemy’s “Dnepr” Operational Grouping will attempt to break through from the Plavni–Kamianske line along the left bank of the Dnipro River toward Stepnohirsk, and from the Stepove–Mali Shcherbaky line in the northern direction with the aim of reaching the near approaches to the city of Zaporizhzhia.
On the Prydniprovske direction, the command of the enemy’s “Dnepr” Operational Grouping will continue trying to take control of most of the island zone in the Dnipro delta in the direction of Kherson, will try to create a tactical bridgehead on the right bank, and to eliminate the tactical bridgeheads of the 30th Marine Corps of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the area of the automobile and railway bridges near Antonivka.
Russian operational losses from 24.02.22 to 22.12.25
Personnel - almost 1,197 860 (+1,120);
Tanks – 11,438 (+3);
Armored combat vehicles ‒ 23,772 (+2);
Artillery systems – 35,308 (+10);
Multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) – 1,575 (0);
Anti-aircraft warfare systems – 1,263 (0);
Vehicles and fuel tanks – 70,853 (+64);
Aircraft - 432 (0);
Helicopters – 347 (0);
UAV operational and tactical level – 92,713 (+109);
Intercepted cruise and other missiles – 4,073 (0);
Boats/ships – 30 (0).
Humanitarian + general:
On the night of 22 December, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 86 UAVs, including more than 50 Shaheds, as well as Gerbera-type drones and others. According to Ukrainian Air Forces, as of 08:30 air defense shot down and suppressed 58 enemy unmanned aerial vehicles. Impacts by 26 strike UAVs were also recorded at 12 locations, and debris fell at one location.
On the night of 22 December, Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Zhytomyr Oblast, which led to power outages. According to the Ministry of Energy and DTEK, significant damage to two energy facilities was recorded in Odesa Oblast. Emergency repair and restoration works are currently ongoing, and consumers have begun to be partially resupplied.
On the night of 22 December, the Russian occupation army carried out a mass UAV attack on Odesa Oblast. In Odesa, a critical infrastructure facility and a residential building were damaged, and a man was wounded. Part of one of the city’s districts was temporarily left without electricity supply.
As a result of a probable Shahed UAV attack at 05:19 on 22 December near Korosten, a freight train derailed, which caused an emergency stop and the derailment of the locomotive of the Kharkiv–Uzhhorod passenger train that was moving on an adjacent track. According to Ukrainian Railways, the locomotive crew of the freight train and a female passenger were injured, and a number of services are running with delays of three hours or more.
In the Nikopol distric of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, as a result of Russian artillery and FPV drone attacks, three civilians were injured — a man and two women. Nikopol, the Marhanetska, Pokrovska, and Myrivska communities came under fire. Enemy fire damaged infrastructure facilities, a dormitory, three five-story buildings, five private houses, outbuildings, a vehicle, a gas pipeline, and a power line.
Throughout 22 December, Russian forces attacked settlements in Kherson Oblast with artillery and UAVs of various types, as a result of which three civilians were wounded. According to the Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, in Kherson two women were injured by artillery shelling, one of whom was pulled from under the rubble of a private house. Another woman was injured as a result of an FPV drone attack in the village of Dudchany.
With the assistance of the Save Ukraine team and the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, 11 Ukrainian children and adolescents were rescued from temporarily occupied territories. Among those returned were children whose families were subjected to constant pressure, searches, and intimidation by the occupation authorities, as well as adolescents who were forcibly involved in the Russian education system and military-patriotic upbringing. Specifically, young men who faced the risk of compulsory conscription into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation upon reaching adulthood were able to leave.