“Fierce fighting” between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the town of Avdiivka – 2024-02-18 03:01:15

Ukrainian and Russian troops are engaged in “fierce fighting” in the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiyivka, as Ukrainian forces set up new defensive positions around the besieged city, signaling, according to AFP, a possible retreat in the face of waves of Russian attacks. .

“Fierce fighting is going on inside the city,” Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, a Ukrainian general in the eastern regions, said on social media. “Our troops are using all available forces and all available means to repel the enemy,” he added.

According to him, “new positions have been created and strong fortifications are still being installed taking into account all possible scenarios.”

“We do our best”

“We are doing our best” for the troops fighting the Russian forces on the eastern front and in particular in the besieged Avdiivka, where the situation is described as “critical”, the president of Ukraine assured on Thursday evening Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We are doing our best to ensure that our soldiers have sufficient administrative and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible,” Zelensky said after being briefed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief Oleksandr Sirsky on the situation in Avdiivka and on the eastern front in general.

A few hours earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Abdiivka was at risk of falling into the hands of Russian forces.

For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the impasse in the US Congress regarding the release of new aid to Kiev is already having “effects” on the battlefield in Ukraine.