(Kyiv) The Ukrainian army must face an “increase in the number of Russian assaults” in the east of the country, particularly around the disputed town of Avdiïvka, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
Moscow’s forces have been trying for a month to surround this industrial city, which has become one of the hot spots in the conflict.
But the front line has been almost frozen for a year, even if Volodymyr Zelensky, on one side, and the Kremlin, on the other, assure that the war is not at an impasse.
“The army reported an increase in the number of enemy attacks,” the Ukrainian president said on his Telegram channel, citing the areas of Avdiivka, Kupiansk and Donetsk in the east.
PHOTO SABRINA BLANCHARD, AFP
Map of areas controlled by Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine as of November 13, 2023.
Volodymyr Zelensky assured that his soldiers “held their positions” and also carried out “offensives”.
Ukraine recently noted the failure of its counter-offensive which began last June and which came up against solid Russian defenses. However, it is essential to gain ground for Kyiv, which wants to avoid the effect of weariness among its Western allies with regard to a conflict which has lasted for almost two years.
According to Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers and experts who analyzed open source intelligence, the Ukrainian army has managed to anchor forces on the occupied bank of the Dnieper River since the end of October, in particular in the village of Krynky in the region south of Kherson.
This information has not been confirmed, either by Moscow or Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelensky also accused the Russians on Tuesday of “taking revenge on the free city of Kherson”, which has just celebrated the first anniversary of the end of its occupation, by bombing it “without any military reason”.
The day before, Russian attacks left three people dead and twelve injured, including a two-month-old baby, according to local authorities.