Russian troops have been trying to surround Avdiyivka, Donetsk Region, since May last year, but the town is under the control of Ukrainian defenders, said Vitaliy Barbash, head of the Avdiyivka Regional Military Administration, during a telethon.
"Now they have entered the lowlands from the north. Our troops are on the dominant heights. This is what is causing the enemy to suffer extremely heavy losses in this area, in the north. They are less active in the south of the town. But they do not give up trying to "clamp down on these ticks" (to surround the town - ed.). The guys are there, holding on," Barbash emphasised.
According to him, the number of attacks on Avdiyivka has increased. The number of air strikes in the Avdiyivka area is up to 30 per day.
In the Avdiyivka, Maryinka and Shakhtarsk areas, the enemy conducted offensive actions near Novobakhmutivka, Novokalynove, Krasnohorivka, Stepove, Avdiyivka, Severne, Vodyane, Pervomyske, Maryinka and Pobeda, but failed to succeed.