Russian troops are trying to push further into eastern Ukraine by launching multiple attacks west of Abdiivkathe day after the withdrawal of Kiev forces from this key industrial city, the Ukrainian sector commander said today.

“In the zone of Avdiyivka, the Ukrainian military repelled 14 attacks by occupation forces near Lastochkin”, a small village located less than two kilometers from the northern outskirts of Avdiyivka. in the Donetsk regionGeneral Oleksandr Tarnavskiy said on Telegram.

further south, in the Mariinka zoneRussian forces “tried 23 times to break through the defense of our troops,” he added, also referring to Russian attacks in the Zaporizhia region.

According to General TarnavskiKiev forces repelled 13 “attack attempts” by Russian forces near the villages of Robotyn and Verbove (Zaporiziya region), one of the rare areas where the Ukrainians gained ground during their 2023 counteroffensive, which largely failed .

“The enemy suffered significant losses in men and armored vehicles,” the commander assured.

THE Moscow yesterday hailed the “significant victory” claiming it was in “full control” of Abdiivka, days after the second anniversary of the start of the invasion.

Today, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had advanced 8.6 kilometers to capture the city, which has been largely destroyed and has been the target of heavy Russian attacks since October despite suffering heavy casualties.