More than four and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the front line in the country's east and south remains one of the most active combat zones in the world, and Wednesday brought another heavy day of fighting.
Ukraine's military reported 269 separate combat engagements along the front over the previous 24 hours. The most intense fighting was in the Kostiantynivka sector in the eastern Donetsk region, where 37 attacks were recorded, part of a monthslong Russian push to advance through that area. Ukrainian reports said Russian forces carried out 86 airstrikes, dropping 302 guided bombs, and launched 9,757 so-called kamikaze drones, the small, explosive-laden aircraft that have become one of the defining weapons of this stage of the war. Shelling of populated areas and military positions was also reported 2,735 times over the day, including 13 attacks using multiple-launch rocket systems.
Ukrainian forces reported repelling 13 attacks in the southern Slobozhansky direction, near the Russian border, and nine more near Sloviansk, a city that has repeatedly come under pressure during the war. Civil defense volunteer groups said they shot down more than 60 aerial targets over the country during the day, part of the layered air-defense effort that Ukrainian cities and towns have relied on throughout the conflict.
The reports underscore how, even as diplomatic attention this week has been drawn to the Middle East and to trade and economic news elsewhere, the war in Ukraine continues largely unabated. There was no indication Wednesday of an imminent shift in the front line's shape, with both militaries describing a grinding contest for small amounts of territory along a long and heavily fortified line.
Analysts will be watching whether Russian forces can translate the concentrated pressure around Kostiantynivka into a meaningful territorial gain, and whether Ukraine's air-defense networks can keep pace with the continued high tempo of drone and missile attacks heading into the winter months.
How long has this war been going on?
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and fighting along the eastern and southern front lines has continued since.
Where is the fighting most intense right now?
The Kostiantynivka sector in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region saw the most attacks in the latest 24-hour reporting period.