MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia’s troops, in the course of liberation of the Peschanoye settlement in the Dnepropetrovsk Region, have established a bridgehead on the western bank of the Gaichur River, Russian security sources told TASS.
"A bridgehead has been established on the western bank of the Gaichur River, and an area of more than three square kilometers has been taken under control as a result of active combat operations," the sources said.
They added that during the liberation of the settlement, servicemen of the 36th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Army of Battlegroup East destroyed more than two platoons of Ukrainian army personnel from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, more than seven enemy combat vehicles, and over 20 Baba-Yaga hexacopters.
Security forces noted that while liberating Peschanoye, Russian forces crossed the Gaichur River and captured a major enemy defensive stronghold near the village. "Taking this area will allow us to expand the bridgehead on the western bank of the Gaichur River and continue the offensive deep into the Dnepropetrovsk Region," the sources noted.
Earlier, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, that troops of Russia’s Battlegroup East, having crossed the Gaichur River in several areas, are stepping up an offensive in the south of the Dnepropetrovsk Region and the east of the Zaporozhye Region.