“The enemy is trying to actively develop its offensive,” Dmytro Lykhoviy, spokesman for the Ukrainian army commander who leads Kiev troops in the region, said on state television.
Military authorities reported repelling 14 Russian attacks on the village of Lastochkyne, about two kilometers west of Avdiivka.
They also mentioned that Ukrainian forces repelled 13 “attack attempts” near the villages of Robotyne and Verbowe in Zaporizhzhia province, one of the few places where Ukrainian troops recaptured territory during their failed counteroffensive in 2023.
According to Lykhoviy, an advance in this area would be “very difficult” for Russia given the strong Ukrainian defense lines and natural terrain conditions.
“The situation in the Zaporizhia sector is stable […] “No positions were lost in the Zaporizhia sector,” he said on television. “The enemy received a punch in the teeth and retreated,” he added.
“Important victory”
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated a “significant victory” in Avdiivka on Saturday. Just days before the second anniversary of the start of the war, Moscow claimed “complete control” of the city.