Russian forces continue their attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Avdiivka and Kherson
The Russian forces, whose objective is to limit a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began four months ago, maintained constant pressure on the city of Avdiivka on Sunday and intensified the bombing in the southern area of the city of Kherson, notes Hotnews.ro.
Russia has focused on the industrial east after it failed to capture Kiev at the start of the invasion in February 2022, and its forces have tried to hold onto their positions in Kherson since abandoning the region's main city late last year.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in its report on Sunday evening, said that Ukrainian forces had repulsed nearly 20 Russian attacks around Avdiivka, with buildings in the town now largely destroyed. Russian airstrikes hit nearby villages, the General Staff said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the situation in Avdiivka and the neighboring town of Mariinka was "particularly tough. Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are maintained."
In Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said several villages were bombed by the Russians, as well as transportation and food production sites in Kherson city.
Russian forces routinely shell Kherson and villages on the west bank of the Dnieper from positions on the east bank, where they withdrew late last year.
The Institute for the Study of War found in the past week that Ukrainian forces had crossed the Dnieper to occupy new positions of their own.
