Ukrainian military troops braced against a new Russian assault on the Eastern town of Avdiivka but were able to make progress in their counteroffensive in the southern theater.
Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyi posted a video on Telegram where he appeared to be conferring with officers in Avdiivka and in Kupiansk. The latter is a town located further north where Russian forces have intensified attacks in the past few weeks.
Russian Assault on Avdiivka
In a commentary attached to the video, Zaluzhnyi said that the enemy is not relenting in its attempts to break through their defenses and surround the Ukrainian town. He added that the opponent was actively bringing in assault units and large amounts of armored equipment while using aircraft and artillery.
The spokesperson for the southern group of Ukrainian forces, Oleksandr Shtupun, said that there was constant pressure on Avdiivka. He added that the Russian forces regrouped and launched new assaults in the area.
Russian military forces subjected the Eastern Ukrainian town to fierce attacks last week but largely tapered off assaults in the last few days. The town has become a watchword for Ukrainian resistance and it is known for its large coking plant. It was able to hold out in 2014 against Russian-backed separatists who secured swathes of eastern Ukraine, including the town, as per Reuters.
Similar to Bakhmut to the northeast, which was captured by Russian forces in May, Avdiivka endured months of assaults since Moscow's full-scale February 2022 invasion. Officials also said that roughly 1,600 residents remain from a pre-war population of 32,000.
Ukrainian troops successfully recaptured Kupiansk late last year during a lightning advance through the nation's northeast. However, Russian forces have stepped up attacks in an attempt to retake the region.
Zaluzhnyi said that Ukrainian forces around Kupiansk were "maintaining their defense in the most difficult of conditions." On the other hand, Russia's accounts of the conflict said that its forces successfully destroyed a command point near Avdiivka and repelled 11 Ukrainian attacks near Kupiansk.
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Continued Aggression in Ukraine
Vitaliy Barabash, the head of the Avdiivka City Military Administration, said that Russian forces were forcing their way to encircle the city. He said that the Ukrainian military was somehow managing to hold off Moscow's troops, according to Newsweek.
A commander of a special police unit in the city, Major Maxim Morozov, said that they expect more attacks from Russian forces. He added that they have information to believe that Russians have amassed huge reserves of both personnel and military equipment.
Yuriy Shtepa, who leads a fire support group in a brigade of Ukraine's territorial defense forces, was in a trench northwest of the city as Russian forces made their advance. He said that they quickly knew that Moscow's military equipment was arriving in the area.
He said that Ukrainian equipment started to target the Russian supplies, adding that artillery was working well for them. However, he said that with the arrival of around 30 to 40 vehicles, the situation was made difficult.
Shtepa noted that there was a plane every 15 minutes or so and that helicopters were in the area every three to five minutes. The Russian forces were only able to take a few square kilometers in their attack, said Yahoo News.
