(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 712: is the war at yet another 'tipping point' [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-02-04 The New York Times continues to frame the war as Ukraine relinquishing momentum to Russa, whereas the RU announced winter offensive has been less than effective and still costly. Russian vehicle losses just around Avdiivka have reached an extraordinary 608, more than 200 tanks and almost 350 APC/IFV. It is all in the pursuit of another annihilated city. But their attacks in Avdiivka and elsewhere along the front serve a larger goal: to seize the advantage at a time American military support to Ukraine has ceased, and to overwhelm the Ukrainians with sheer mass. The epicenter of the fighting remains around Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region, where the Russians have staged relentless assaults, no matter the obstacles. They spent weeks fighting for control of an industrial slag heap on the outskirts of the city, sending waves of troops up only to be cut down in horrifying fusillades. They creep through tunnels under the city streets and direct unmanned vehicles packed with explosives at Ukrainian positions. As the war enters its third year, Ukrainians find themselves outmanned and outgunned . After dominating the fighting in the first year and battling mostly to a standstill in the second, they have relinquished the momentum to Russia. Now they are digging in and fighting to hold on. Russia has prepared 500 tanks, more than 600 combat vehicles, hundreds of howitzers and forty thousand soldiers for the attack on Kupiansk - Forbes The Russians are reportedly planning to launch a major offensive to make military gains closer to spring against the backdrop of… pic.twitter.com/7ETsblz1uu ⚡️ WAR IN #UKRAINE - FEB 4, 2024 ■ Reported settlements under fire, strikes & engagements below 7-day average ■ Casualties also below average but the highest 7-day total of the year so far ■ Equipment losses below average but 7-day vehicle & artillery losses in 2024 at their… pic.twitter.com/1yvYZnGofT Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Luhansk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast) A Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group reportedly unsuccessfully attempted to cross the international border in Sumy Oblast on February 3. Ukrainian Joint Forces Commander Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev reported on February 4 that Ukrainian forces engaged in a small arms and artillery engagement with a group of 10 Russian servicemen on the outskirts of the Hlukhivska hromada on the Ukrainian-Russian international border in Sumy Oblast and successfully pushed the group back into Russia. [20] Positional engagements continued along the Kupyask-Kreminna line on February 4 and did not result in confirmed changes on the battlefield. Russian forces continued offensive operations northeast of Kupyansk near Synkivka and Ivanivka, and southeast of Kupyansk in and near Tabaivka. [21] Positional engagements also continued northwest of Kreminna near Makiivka; west of Kreminna near Terny, Torske, and Yampolivka; southwest of Kreminna near Dibrova; and south of Kreminna near the Serebryanske forest area and Bilohorivka. [22] Spokesperson for the Ukrainian “Steel Border” border detachment Ivan Shevtsov observed that Russian forces have nearly doubled their artillery fire along the Kupyansk-Lyman line since late 2023 because weather conditions on the frontline allowed for the intensive use of artillery and drones. [24] Shevtsov added that Russian forces are unlikely to be experiencing ammunition shortages given the increase in shelling and are largely attacking in the Kupyansk direction with infantry. Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Captain Ilya Yevlash, however, stated on February 2 that Russian forces have almost halved their daily rate of artillery fire in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions due to poor weather conditions and other unspecified issues. [25] Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Donetsk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas) Russian forces recently marginally advanced southwest of Bakhmut amid continued positional engagements near Bakhmut on February 4. Geolocated footage published on February 3 indicates that Russian forces recently marginally advanced north of Klishchiivka (7km southwest of Bakhmut). [26] ...Positional engagements continued northeast of Bakhmut near Fedorivka, northwest of Bakhmut near Bohdanivka, west of Bakhmut near Ivanivske, and southwest of Bakhmut near Klishchiivka and Pivdenne. [28] The spokesperson for a Ukrainian brigade operating in the Bakhmut direction stated that Russian forces have advanced five to seven kilometers closer to Chasiv Yar over an unspecified time period and that Russian forces recently began conducting mechanized assaults in the area. [29] Elements of the Russian 98th Guards Airborne (VDV) Division and the Russian “Sever-V” Volunteer Brigade (Russian Volunteer Corps) are reportedly operating near Bakhmut. [30] [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/2/4/2221456/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-712-is-the-war-at-yet-another-tipping-point?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/