Russian soldiers are disguising themselves in civilian clothes to set ambushes in Toretsk, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (video).

Units of the Russian Armed Forces are navigating the streets of Toretsk using cunning tactics and reconnaissance drones. To outsmart the Ukrainians, Russians are dressing in civilian clothing and stealthily infiltrating basements. Afterward, they wait for an attack from their accomplices and join the fighting. The new tactics frequently employed by the Russian Armed Forces in the Toretsk direction were discussed by the commander of the mortar battery of the separate special forces battalion of the separate presidential brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Mikhail, with the call sign "Brain," during a telethon.

Commander Mikhail reported that in Toretsk, his unit and adjacent forces discovered a cunning tactic used by the Russian Armed Forces that allows the enemy to secure new positions. According to him, former prisoners are fighting against the Ukrainians, assigned specific tasks: they dress in civilian clothes, infiltrate hidden locations, and remain in hiding for a certain period. They wait for the breakthrough attempt to commence and then engage in battle. Additionally, sometimes these "decoy ducks" scatter mines when they see that they cannot reach Ukrainian positions otherwise, noted the commander.

"This is not so much a trick, but this tactic is widespread here. Some soldiers in the Russian army are former prisoners. They are given tasks to plant anti-tank mines and attempt to throw them into our fire positions. They try to blow up buildings where our guys are located," Mikhail stated.

Another tactic employed by the enemy in the Toretsk direction involves infiltrating Ukrainian ranks in small infantry groups (of 2-4 individuals). At the same time, the adversary uses reconnaissance drones: they monitor the situation, relay data to Russian unit commanders, who can then manage the movements of their subordinates in real-time, identifying ambushes set by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Conversely, when fog appears, the intensity of actions does not decrease: the aerial reconnaissance of the Defense Forces becomes "blind," allowing Russians to creep deeper into Toretsk, the soldier said.

"Typically, these are assaults by small infantry groups consisting of two to four enemies. I want to emphasize that currently, all groups are quite well-coordinated with the help of the enemy's aerial reconnaissance," Mikhail noted.

According to the soldier, the Defense Forces are successfully detecting both the disguised Russians and the infantry that has advanced further, successfully neutralizing them, as heard in the video.

Fighting in Donbas — Situation near Toretsk on January 3

In the report from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 8:00 AM on January 3, it is stated that there were six attacks by the Russian Armed Forces in the Toretsk direction. It is specifically noted that most of the attacks are directed at this particular settlement. A hotter area is located further south: near Pokrovsk — 38 enemy assaults, near Kurakhovo — 27, and near Vremenka — 24. The map from the DeepState project shows that Russians are engaged in combat in the center of Toretsk. We also see that approximately half of the city, which has an area of 65 square kilometers (with a population of nearly 31,000 before the Russian invasion), is under enemy control. The last changes in the front line occurred on December 26-27, when Russians broke through by a hundred meters in the center and southern districts.

It should be noted that in November, the DeepState channel reported that units of the Russian Armed Forces had reached the center of Toretsk. Military expert Vladislav Seleznev explained that the fighting is occurring within residential areas, and Russians are fighting for every house.

We remind you that on the morning of January 2, analysts reported that Russians had occupied new villages in Donbas.