(Reuters) – Russian forces are maintaining relentless pressure on the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, as well as intensifying shelling in the southern area of Kherson. Russia has shifted its focus to the industrial east after a failed advance on Kyiv during the February 2022 invasion, and its forces have been trying to maintain positions in Kherson since abandoning the region’s main town last year.
In its evening report, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces stated that Ukrainian forces managed to repel nearly 20 Russian attacks around Avdiivka. The town’s buildings have been heavily damaged by the conflict, and Russian air strikes have also hit nearby villages.
Avdiivka is seen as a symbol of resistance and is considered the gateway to recapturing the Russian-held city of Donetsk and the rest of the Donbas region. Although it was briefly seized by Russian-backed separatists in 2014, Ukrainian forces later reclaimed it and built strong fortifications over the past nine years.
“Avdiivka is indeed significant,” said Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Ukraine Defence Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, in an interview with Espreso TV news outlet. “This is not the first time the occupying forces have heightened tensions with declarations of taking over all of Donetsk and Luhansk. Their plans have failed, and the deadlines have been pushed back. This is just another episode of tension.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged that the situation in Avdiivka and the nearby town of Maryinka was particularly tough. He highlighted the numerous Russian attacks but expressed confidence in the Ukrainian positions holding. Zelenskiy emphasized the need for progress in Ukraine to withstand Russian assaults and eliminate occupiers.
Russian military accounts did not mention Avdiivka but reported successful operations against Ukrainian positions in Bakhmut, which was seized by Moscow in May after months of fighting.
In Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed that several villages and key sites in the city had been struck in shelling episodes. However, Reuters could not independently verify the accounts from either side.
Russian forces regularly shell Kherson and villages on the western bank of the Dnipro River from their positions on the eastern bank, where they retreated last year.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War recently reported that Ukrainian forces have crossed the Dnipro River to establish new positions and pursue Russian forces.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; editing by Diane Craft)
