Day 304: December 24Today there is several good news.First of all, in the southern part of the Luhansk region, there have been some confirmations that the Ukrainians have created additional attack groups, assaulted all Russian positions around Dibrova, and are about to breach this last line of defense and start storming Kreminna.Last time I told you that the Ukrainians had gained significant access to the Russian main Svatove-Kreminna defense line and even started assaulting three settlements on this line simultaneously: Holykove, Chervonopopivka, and Zhytlivka. I told you that the next logical step would be to take Ploschanka and Dibrova, which would finally open access to the two main strongholds north of the Siverskyi Donets River: Svatove and Kreminna. And this is exactly what the Ukrainians decided to do, starting with Dibrova.Four days ago, Russian sources increasingly started reporting about the increased concentration of Ukrainian troops in the region, in particular, in Terny, Yampolivka, and Torske. They reported that the Ukrainians have reinforced this region with formations of several Airborne Brigades and also noted significant deliveries of mortar and artillery shells. Russian analysts concluded that the Ukrainians were preparing for a large-scale attack on Dibrova with the aim of further access to Kreminna.Two days ago, their forecast was proven right because the Ukrainians launched their offensive operation and assaulted Russian positions to the north of Dibrova. To provide air support to ground troops, the Ukrainians engaged tactical aircraft Su-27 and MiG-29 from the airfield in northern Ukraine.After significantly reducing the area of Russian control around Dibrova, the fights became positional, with local checkpoints often changing hands several times per day. That is why the Ukrainians opened a second line of attack from the south to double the pressure on Russian forces. In order to ensure that the Russians could not keep up with the intensity, the Ukrainians needed to act quickly, which is why they prepared additional pontoon bridges in the area of Serebryanka and transported a lot of troops in a very short period of time.As a result, some sources indicate that the Russians lost almost all control over the forest, while other sources even suggest that the Russians left Dibrova. When it comes to official updates, the Ukrainian Head of the Luhansk region recently stated that decreasing temperatures have produced conditions conducive to fighting and that Ukrainian forces are currently a few kilometers away from reaching Kreminna, but that dense mine concentrations in the area are slowing Ukrainian advances. The statement is vague, but it clearly indicates that the Ukrainians were waiting for the temperature to drop to conduct an offensive, and it seems like, so far, everything has gone according to plan.Other news is coming from southern Ukraine. Here the Ukrainians conducted a drone attack on Crimea. Today at night, explosions were heard in the Nizhnehirsk area. Russian sources reported that the Ukrainians launched seven drones that headed toward the oil depot in the village of Razlivi. Russian sources claim that five drones were shot down near the border and that out of two that were left, one was shot down right above the oil depot and one near the Thermal Power Plant. However, the videos show that there were two drones near the depot, so there is an inconsistency between the facts and the narrative.The main point is that the Ukrainians are using very cheap Chinese drones that cost maximum 10 000 dollars. In contrast, each rocket that shoots down the drones costs up to 200 000 dollars. So, by conducting these massive drone attacks on Crimea, the Ukrainians may be cheaply achieving higher-order objectives.