KYIV (Reuters) – Large numbers of Russian troops are attacking Avdiivka in east Ukraine from all directions, and the situation is increasingly difficult for Ukrainian troops defending the town, its mayor said on Thursday.
Russian forces have taken the initiative on the eastern front in the industrial Donbas region of Ukraine and have been trying to cut supply lines and encircle Ukrainian forces dug in at Avdiivka since October.
“The enemy is pressuring from all directions. They are storming with very numerous forces,” Avdiivka mayor Vitaliy Barabash said in televised comments, describing the situation as “very difficult and hot”.
Pounded by fighting in the region since 2014 that surged in February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Avdiivka has sustained heavy damage.
There are now only 941 residents in the town that was once home to 32,000 people and has a large coking plant, Barabash said.
Avdiivka’s fall would be hailed by Russian authorities as a hard-fought victory before an election next month in which President Vladimir Putin widely expected to be re-elected.
In its daily readout of the situation in Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said Kyiv’s troops were holding back Russian forces.
“Our soldiers firmly hold the defence, inflicting significant losses on the invaders,” it said.
Ukraine’s ground forces said the situation was tense across the east of the country.
“The enemy is trying to break through our defence in the area of Chasiv Yar (in the Donetsk region) and resorting to local actions by small storm groups under the cover of drones and artillery,” they said on the Telegram messaging app.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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