Map of special operations in Ukraine on December 26

Russia has been conducting a special military operation to protect civilians in Donbas since February 24, 2022. You can track the progress of the joint troops of Russia, the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DNR and LNR), as well as see a map of military operations for December 26 in the Izvestiya piece.

The Defense Ministry reported that the Southern Group of Forces liberated the village of Gigant in the DNR. The losses of the Armed forces of Ukraine (AFU) amounted to up to 230 servicemen, a vehicle, 122-millimeter howitzer D-30 and 105-millimeter gun M119 made in the United States.

At the same time, the units of the "Center" group of forces improved their front line position, while the "West" group improved its tactical position.

Formula of fire: how our snipers work in Kurakhovo

Izvestiya correspondent visited a unit of riflemen on the hottest section of the line of contact

The Russian Army also continued to advance deep into the AFU defenses and defeated the formations of two mechanized brigades of the enemy and a brigade of theater defense in the areas of Vremivka, Zelenoye Polye in the DNR and Temirovka in the Zaporizhzhya region. This was carried out by units of the Vostok group of forces.

Russian forces hit the infrastructure of military airfields, ammunition depots, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control points, as well as concentrations of enemy manpower and military equipment in 143 areas. Air defense means shot down 11 shells of the US HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system (MLRS) and 56 aircraft-type drones.

In total, 650 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 38,595 UAVs, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 19,972 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,504 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,010 field artillery and mortars, and 29,509 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation.

For more up-to-date video and details on the situation in Donbas, see Izvestiya TV channel.