Large numbers of Russian troops are attacking Avdiivka in east Ukraine from all directions, and the situation is increasingly difficult for defending troops, the town's mayor says.
Russian forces have taken the initiative on the eastern front in the industrial Donbas region of Ukraine and have been trying to cut supply lines and encircle Ukrainian forces dug in at Avdiivka since October.
"The enemy is pressuring from all directions. They are storming with very numerous forces," Avdiivka mayor Vitaliy Barabash said in televised comments, describing the situation as "very difficult and hot".
Pounded by fighting in the region since 2014 that surged in February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Avdiivka has sustained heavy damage.
There are now only 941 residents in the town that was once home to 32,000 people and has a large coking plant, Barabash said.
Avdiivka's fall would be hailed by Russian authorities as a hard-fought victory before an election next month in which President Vladimir Putin widely expected to be re-elected.
The action also came as Russia’s main election authority on Thursday refused to allow a politician opposing Moscow’s military action in Ukraine on the ballot for the March presidential poll.
Boris Nadezhdin, a local legislator in a town near Moscow, was required by law to gather at least 100,000 signatures in support of his candidacy.
The Central Election Commission declared more than 9000 signatures submitted by Nadezhdin’s campaign invalid, which was enough to disqualify him.
The 60-year-old has openly called for a halt to the conflict in Ukraine and for starting a dialogue with the West.
Speaking at the Election Commission, Nadezhdin said he would challenge his disqualification in court.
“It’s not me standing here,” he said. “Hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who put their signatures down for me are behind me.”
In other military action, Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at six regions across Ukraine, killing at least five civilians and wounding almost 50 others, including a pregnant woman.
Ukrainian authorities said the attacks hit at least three major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, where the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, was discussing military aid and financial support.
He said that he started his day in an air raid shelter, calling it part of Ukraine's “daily reality” after almost two years of war.
The West's help is desperately needed by Ukraine, struggling with ammunition and personnel shortages. Some long-term foreign funding is also in doubt as the latest effort to clinch a deal on Ukraine aid in the US Senate collapsed on Tuesday.
Though the roughly 1500km front line has barely budged in recent months, the Kremlin’s forces have the upper hand in stocks of missiles and artillery ammunition used for long-range strikes.
Russia has repeatedly used missiles to blast civilian targets during the conflict.
In its daily readout of the situation in Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said Kyiv's troops were holding back Russian forces.
"Our soldiers firmly hold the defence, inflicting significant losses on the invaders," it said.
Ukraine's ground forces said the situation was tense across the east of the country.
"The enemy is trying to break through our defence in the area of Chasiv Yar (in the Donetsk region) and resorting to local actions by small storm groups under the cover of drones and artillery," they said on the Telegram messaging app.
With AP
