Russians reduced use of aircraft, artillery in Tavria sector – General Tarnavskyi

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria operational and strategic grouping of troops, said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

According to Tarnavskyi, the invaders continued attempts to advance with infantry, but they lost almost 500 troops.

In total, the enemy carried out four air strikes, conducted 34 combat engagements and fired 648 artillery shells in the operational zone of the Tavria operational and strategic grouping of troops.

Ukrainian defenders are holding their ground on the Avdiivka axis, the commander said.

The enemy lost 495 soldiers and eight pieces of military equipment, including armored fighting vehicles, two unmanned aerial vehicles, and two cars. Some 13 pieces of enemy equipment were damaged.

At the same time, Ukraine's offensive operation in the Melitopol sector is ongoing, Tarnavskyi said.

Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson of the joint press center of the defense forces of the Tavria sector, reported on national television that the number of enemy attacks recorded in the Tavria sector on December 1 was almost 1.5 times lower than on November 30.

"One of the reasons is the very high enemy losses that were inflicted by our soldiers before that. In total, 34 combat clashes were recorded, 21 of them near Avdiivka, where the enemy throws infantry forward and almost does not use armored vehicles," Shtupun said.

He said that the Russian army lost 495 soldiers in this sector in the past 24 hours, including about 300 in the Avdiivka area. The enemy also lost four armored vehicles.

"Compared to the previous three days, the [invaders'] equipment is almost not used," Shtupun said.

According to him, the activity of enemy aircraft and artillery has also decreased, with four air strikes recorded in the past day, whereas 17-18 were recorded the day before. The Russian military continues to use guided bombs that are fired from afar.

Regarding the situation around the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, Shtupun said that the enterprise "is controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine; the enemy is trying to penetrate there, but at the moment they are only losing their infantry and equipment."

Fierce fighting is going on in Avdiivka's industrial zone.

According to Shtupun, the moral and psychological state of the Russian invaders is quite low.

"The personnel in some cases refuse to move forward, they don't want to die for some reason," he said.