The Russian army has stepped up its attack on the disputed town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine in recent days, its mayor Vitaly Barabach said on Thursday.
The situation there was “very tense,” the official told Ukrainian television about this place, which has become the target of Russia’s main offensive on the Eastern Front.
“In recent days, the enemy has become more active, especially in the direction (industrial zone), carrying out offensive actions with armored vehicles,” he continued.
According to the Ukrainian mayor, the Russians are attacking “on the flanks, from the south, a little less from the north,” using infantry “almost 24 hours a day” and “attacking positions around the city.”
The industrial town of Avdiivka, which was home to around 30,000 people before the war, is now largely destroyed and, despite the incessant fighting and bombing around it, barely 1,500 people are still alive.
Avdiivka briefly fell into the hands of pro-Russian separatists armed by Moscow in July 2014, before falling back under Ukrainian control. Since then it has marked the front line in this area.
But in early October, the Russians launched a major offensive aimed at encircling and then capturing that city, resulting in heavy casualties, according to experts and open-source intelligence analysts.
However, gradually the Moscow army managed to advance, especially north and south of Avdiivka.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured on Tuesday that his men had “held their positions”.