Russia has significantly stepped up the battle for the destroyed eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian army said on Monday. The number of Russian air raids has increased around the city and Russian ground troops are trying to gain ground.
The Russians would have suffered major losses, with 3,000 to 4,000 dead and between 7,000 and 8,000 injured, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian troops are also said to have held out in other parts of the 1,000 km long front line and repulsed Russian attacks, Reuters reports.
The Russian army is focusing on eastern Ukraine, having failed to advance towards Kyiv in the early days of the invasion. Since mid-October, the army has been trying to take Avdiivka, a town 20 km from the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.
‘Fighting is still going on. “Over the past two days, the occupiers have increased the number of air strikes using guided bombs from Su-35 aircraft,” Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun told national television.
REUTERS – The city of Avdiivka is virtually deserted and the damage to buildings is extensive.
‘The enemy is also bringing more and more infantry into battle. But when they tried to use armored vehicles the day before yesterday, two tanks and fourteen other vehicles burned out.” Ukrainian forces are believed to have repelled eight attacks on the city in the past 24 hours, he said.
Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military government, said “not a single building” in the city was left undamaged. Almost all residents have now been evacuated, and only 1,500 of the original 32,000 residents are said to remain in the city.
According to Barabash, Avdiivka is of great strategic importance to the Russians because of its location at high altitude. “You can see Donetsk from here and that’s exactly what they need,” Barabash said.
Editorial
2023-11-14 21:33:45
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