Russian forces scaled back attacks on the besieged eastern Ukrainian town of Avdeevka on December 3, and unofficial reports from the region indicated that they had failed to capture the devastated town of Marinka in the southwest. Reuters.
The Russian army has focused on eastern Ukraine since abandoning the advance on Kiev in the first days after the invasion in February 2022. Since mid-October, the military has focused its efforts on capturing Avdeyevka and its huge coking plant, the British agency said.
Russian reports from December 1 suggested that Moscow troops had taken control of Marinka, 40 km to the southwest. But according to unofficial Ukrainian reports on Saturday, its forces were holding some areas.
Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Stupun said on national television that Russian attacks on Avdeyevka had halved in the past 24 hours, largely as a result of heavy casualties.
“The coke chemical plant is controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Stupun said. “Enemy forces are trying to force their way inside, but are suffering losses in infantry and equipment.’
Fighting was still intense, he added, in an adjacent area outside the city center known as the “industrial zone”. The popular Russian military blog Ribar reported that the zone had fallen under Russian control.
Vitaly Barabash, head of the city’s military administration, told Ukrainian Channel 24 that Avdeevka “is starting to look like Marinka, a settlement that basically doesn’t exist anymore. It’s collapsed to the ground.”
There are no official Ukrainian reports on Marinka, but military analyst Oleg Zhdanov has indicated that reports of its capture by Russian forces are false.
“We recognize that there was an advance of the Russian army there,” added Zhdanov in an online presentation. “But the southwestern and northwestern parts of the city are under the control of Ukrainian forces.”
Deepstate, an unofficial Ukrainian military blog, quoted Ukrainian military personnel as denying any notion that Russian forces had secured full control of what was once a town of 10,000.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense did not mention Marinka in its briefs, the British media reported.
Russian military blog Ribar cited photos on social media of Russian flags in the city, but added: “Nevertheless, several buildings remain under the control of the Ukrainian army.”
Another Ukrainian spokesman, Volodymyr Fityo, told national television that Kiev forces had repelled 21 Russian attacks in the areas around Bakhmut. The town, also battered by months of fighting, was captured by Russian forces in May, but Ukrainian troops have since retaken nearby villages.
Ukrainian forces have focused on recapturing occupied villages in the east and south in a counter-offensive that began in June, although President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that progress is slower than Kiev would like.
2023-12-03 07:49:04
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