The Russian army is “improving its positions” on the front lines in Ukraine, including around the city of Avdiivka (east), which for several days was the target of a major attack by Moscow troops intended to encircle it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
“Our troops are improving their position in almost the entire space, a fairly large space,” he explained in an interview on Russian television, an excerpt of which was published on Sunday on the interviewed journalist’s social networks. Pavel Zaroubin.
“This concerns the Kupiansk, Zaporizhzhia and Avdiivka regions,” Mr. Putin added, welcoming this army’s “active defense” strategy.
These statements by the Russian President on the situation around Avdiivka come as his army said it had made progress in this sector and was determined to capture this Russian-controlled capital of Ukraine, less than 15 km north of Donetsk, in the region of the same name , whose annexation Vladimir Putin claimed a year ago.
Avdiivka briefly fell into the hands of pro-Russian separatists supported and armed by Moscow in July 2014, before falling back under Ukrainian control.
Since then, it has marked the front line in this area and was already regularly bombed before the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
On Saturday, the city’s Ukrainian mayor, Vitaly Barabach, said the situation there was “very tense” because, in his opinion, the Russians were trying to “encircle” the city with “more and more troops.”
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that his army had “held firm” and resisted the attack by Moscow soldiers.
According to the mayor, just over 1,600 civilians still live in Avdiivka and evacuations are difficult due to the constant bombing. Before the Russian offensive, the city had 30,000 inhabitants.
The Russian attack on Avdiivka comes after four months of a difficult Ukrainian counteroffensive, after the Kiev army had only recaptured a few villages from the Russians.
Vladimir Putin reiterated on Sunday that this counteroffensive had “completely failed.” “We know that the opposing side is preparing new offensive operations in certain combat areas. We see it, we know it. And we react accordingly,” he emphasized.