Russia has suffered huge losses in eastern Ukraine after launching a massive assault around the city of Avdiivka – President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia had lost “hundreds” of armoured vehicles.
Ukrainian officials described a ferocious Russian attack which involved heavy armour and huge artillery bombardments in and around the city.
Speaking on on Ukrainian TV, the head of the military administration in Avdiivka Vitaliy Barabash reported the fighting has been “non-stop”.
He said: “The battles have been going on for four days now. Fierce and really non-stop…they are firing from everything they have available.
“It was a very hot night in Avdiivka. There were several air strikes on the city itself, the attacks do not stop day or night.”
The assault is one of the few large-scale attacks Russia has mounted since Ukraine began a counteroffensive in June. Officials have said it may be a move to pull Ukrainian soldiers from other fronts.
Kyiv said that Moscow had massed troops and armour around the city in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian defenders.
Avdiivka lies northwest of occupied Donetsk which has been under Russian control – via the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic – since 2014.
Barabash added: “On the first day, [October 10], when they launched [the offensive], they used a lot of vehicles.
“On the second day, not so much. And yesterday they used armoured vehicles again, they were moving in columns, they have a lot of vehicles and personnel, they bring in fresh people”
Unverified videos posted to social media purport to show Ukrainian fighters attacking Russian vehicles in the region using anti-tank weapons and artillery.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces were holding off the Russian attackers.
In a post on Telegram, he said: “Avdiivka. We are holding our ground. It is Ukrainian courage and unity that will determine how this war will end. We must all remember this.”
Later, in his nightly television address, Zelensky claimed Ukrainian fighters had destroyed “hundreds” of Russian armoured vehicles along the eastern front line in the past few days.
He added: “I am grateful to every warrior and every unit for their resilience.”
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