Kyiv, Ukraine - Severe clashes continued between Russian and Ukrainian units along several front lines in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, the Ukrainian general staff said in its evening report.

"The enemy is looking for ways to break through our defenses," the staff said, noting that more than half of the over 100 armed clashes reported during the day had occurred in the area around Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

The front lines remain unchanged, though.

Ukrainian military officials also reported heavy fighting around the settlement of Mirnoye, west of the city of Zaporizhzhya, where a Russian brigade lost around 95% of its soldiers after massive assaults, according to a statement published by Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for December 18, 2024: The best winter jokes to laugh the day away

The information could not be independently verified.

Earlier, Ukrainian border guards prevented two dozen conscripts from fleeing the war-torn country.

The group was detained near the village of Kelmentsi on the border with Moldova in the western Ukrainian region of Chernivtsi, the authorities announced on Thursday.

The conscripts came from different parts of the country and were planning to flee on foot across the green border under cover of night.

Those helping the conscripts to escape reportedly collected $12,860 per person.

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for over two years, has imposed martial law, and ordered mobilization.

Since then, men between the ages of 18 and 60 who are liable for military service can only leave the war-torn country in exceptional circumstances.