Russia's extensive infantry losses during the assault of Avdiivka had pushed it to deploy elite special forces units of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in what Ukraine's National Resistance Center called "meat assaults".
Russian forces have advanced into the construction zone of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, and street fighting continues in the town, Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov reported on Telegram on Feb. 4.
Ukraine has thrown a wrench into Russian dreams of connecting Donetsk to Russia by rail after successfully targeting Russian units tasked with building the rail bridge, announced Mariupol mayoral advisor, Petro Andriushchenko, on Telegram on Jan. 24.
An outbreak of so-called "mouse or rat-bite fever" has been spreading among many Russian units in the Kupyansk sector of the front, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on Telegram on Dec. 19.
Russian military personnel face challenges in night combat due to a lack of training and night vision equipment, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces "mainly operate at night," British intelligence said in a Dec. 12 report.