Two civilians have been killed in Russian shelling on the eastern Ukrainian stronghold town of Avdiivka as Putin’s forces attempt to surround the city, according to city officials.
Russia’s military has continued with assaults on the town for a fifth consecutive day with emergency crews unable to recover the dead from wrecked buildings, the Donetsk region administration said.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Kyiv’s ground forces, said Russian forces had regrouped after losses and were attacking around the village of Makiivka and towards the city of Kupiansk.
“The main objective of the enemy is the defeat of a grouping of our troops, the encirclement of Kupiansk and to reach the Oskil River,” he said in comments carried by an official military platform.
Syrskyi added that Russian forces were carrying out “dozens” of assaults each day, but that Ukrainian troops had been ready and were holding their ground.
The development comes as Kremlin forces were also pummelling the strategic Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, on a different section of the eastern front, in what Russian and Western officials said amounted to a new offensive.