The situation remains “tense” on Saturday in Avdiïvka, a town in eastern Ukraine that has been the target for several days of a major offensive by Russian forces who are once again trying to “encircle” it, its mayor said. Vitaly Barabach.
Avdiïvka, located 13 km north of Donetsk, under Russian control, briefly fell in July 2014 into the hands of pro-Russian separatists supported and armed by Moscow, before returning to Ukrainian control. Since then, it has marked the front line in this area and was already regularly bombed even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The situation there is “very tense, for the fifth day already, the enemy has not stopped attacking or shelling the positions around the city,” Mr. Barabach declared on Saturday on Ukrainian television.
The Russians’ objective is to “encircle the city,” lamented the official, for whom the Moscow army is “deploying more and more troops” to bring down Avdiïvka.
Last night, however, was “the first night” in recent days where “there were no attacks [russes] with rockets in the city”, now largely destroyed, he added.
But since then, “the shooting has continued, from the north and south of the city,” he described.
According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, on Friday evening, Russia “completely destroyed” “a five-story building” with an air attack.
“A man born in 1959 is probably under the rubble, [mais] it is currently impossible to remove the body,” the ministry added on Telegram, accompanying its message with photos of a ruined building.
“The police are asking residents to evacuate,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured Thursday that his army was “holding firm” and resisting the Russian assault, while Russian troops claimed to have “improved” their positions in the sector in recent days.
According to the mayor, 1,622 civilians remain in Avdiïvka and evacuations there are difficult due to constant bombing. Before the Russian invasion, the city had 30,000 inhabitants.