#intensifyingattacks

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Read the caption below to learn about the attacks by Ukrainian defenders in rear areas in occupied Ukraine and Russia. 🇺🇦👏💙💛🙏🇺🇦

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost . . . Ukraine has been intensifying attacks against the Russian military, logistics, and other high-profile targets in rear areas in occupied Ukraine and Russia, the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest assessment on Nov. 12.

At least three Russian officers were reportedly killed in Melitopol on Nov. 11 by an explosion orchestrated by local pro-Ukrainian resistance, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported.

A day earlier, the HUR said that an attack by Ukrainian surface drones sank two Russian high-speed landing crafts off the coast of occupied Crimea.

Other recently reported attacks included the killing of a Moscow-installed proxy official and former military commander, Mikhail Filiponenko, in occupied Luhansk on Nov. 8 or the rocket strike on occupied Skadovsk on Nov. 9 that allegedly eliminated several high-ranking Russian officers.

Ukraine has also been targeting Russian targets in occupied Crimea and the Black Sea region at least since the summer, leading to a "functional defeat" of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the U.K. Defense Ministry said.

The Washington Post reported on Oct. 23, citing undisclosed official sources, that Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the HUR were allegedly behind dozens of assassinations against Russian targets since February 2022.

The high-profile figures allegedly eliminated by Ukrainian intelligence services included Russian Navy officer Stanislav Rzhytskyi in Krasnodar or Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St. Petersburg, among others, the Post's sources claimed.

Photo: Future Publishing

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An update on the war in Ukraine from U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby. 🇺🇦💙💛🇺🇸

#Repost @kyivindependent_official with @use.repost . . . U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that according to Washington's assessments, Russia is suffering significant losses and experiencing low morale due to its attacks on Avdiivka, European Pravda reported on Oct. 26.

"We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who are refusing to follow orders," Kirby said during the press briefing, according to the Agence France Presse.

"We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire."

Kirby did not provide further details on the alleged executions or on how Washington had obtained the information.

Russia has been intensifying its attacks against Avdiivka, a front-line town a few kilometers north of occupied Donetsk, for several weeks. Moscow has reportedly thrown in extensive force in an effort to encircle the town, suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment in the process, Kyiv said.

This was also confirmed by Kirby, who said that since Oct. 11, Russia has lost "at least 125 units of armored vehicles around Avdiivka and more than a battalion's worth of military equipment."

Ukrainian forces in the sector "were able to hold their own and are holding their defense," he added.

The Kremlin is likely to continue its offensive in the coming months and "may achieve some tactical successes," the U.S. official believes. This will, however, come at the cost of thousands of Russian soldiers thrown into battle without proper training and with poor morale, Kirby stressed.

Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images

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