Russian, Ukrainian forces fighting inside Avdiivka, Ukrainian military says

Russian, Ukrainian forces fighting inside Avdiivka, Ukrainian military says

Russian troops are engaged in fighting with Ukrainian forces inside the beleaguered town of Avdiivka, which has been under sustained Russian assault since mid-October, Ukraine's military said on Thursday.

Russian forces have been trying to advance on the town, noted for its vast coking plant and seen as a gateway to the Russian-held city of Donetsk, 20 km (12 miles) to the east.

"I can confirm this -- yes, there are clashes going on not only in the area of private homes north of the city but already within the town itself," Dmytro Lykhovyy, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, told national television.

Russian troops were concentrated north of the city, he said, with the aim of severing the sole road supplying Ukrainian forces in the town. The situation, he said, was "difficult but controllable".

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.

Avdiivka Mayor Vitaliy Barabash said there were now 941 residents in the town that was once home to 32,000 people. The town was briefly seized by pro-Russian forces when they captured large chunks of territory in eastern Ukraine in 2014 but was retaken by Ukrainian troops who later installed major fortifications.

Barabash had earlier told national television that Russian forces were pressing from all directions, and the situation was increasingly difficult for Ukrainian troops defending the town.

"The enemy is pressuring from all directions. They are storming with very numerous forces," Barabash said, describing the situation as "very difficult and hot".

Avdiivka's fall would be hailed by Russian authorities as a hard-fought victory before an election next month in which President Vladimir Putin is almost certain to be re-elected.

The Ukrainian military's general staff, in its evening report, said its forces had repelled 17 attacks on Avdiivka and five more in nearby areas.

The general staff also reported heavy Russian shelling near Bakhmut, another devastated town that fell to Russian troops last May with heavy loss of life on both sides.

Ukraine's ground forces said the situation was tense across the east, with Russian troops trying to break through defences near Chasiv Yar, a town west of Bakhmut.