Russia announced today that it has captured the village of Tonenke, located west of the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, which Russian troops took control of in February.

“In the region of Avdiivka, the village of Tonenke (…) was liberated thanks to the coordinated actions of the units”the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily report.

According to the Rybar Telegram channel, which is affiliated with the Russian military and has more than 1.2 million followers, Russian forces are trying to reach the left bank of the river located in the area of ​​Avdiivka in order to launch an attack against the villages of Semenivka and Umanske.

After the capture of Abdiivka in mid-February Russia’s forces are slowly gaining ground.

Exhausted by its failed counter-offensive in the summer of 2023 and faced with ammunition shortages due to delayed Western aid, Ukraine, after the fall of Avdiivka, urgently began to create new defensive positions in order to stop the Russian advance.

Barrage of Russian attacks on Kyiv

The Ukraine announced that shot down 31 Russian missiles aimed at Kiev at dawn todayin the first widespread attack on the capital since February, which came after Moscow vowed revenge for deadly bombings on Russian soil.

After these new strikes, which injured 17 people, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Westerners to have her “political will” to help his countryasking specifically for anti-aircraft systems such as modern American Patriot missiles.

“All missiles were shot down in the vicinity of Kyiv”the Ukrainian Air Force announced, clarifying that it was two Iskander and Kinzal ballistic missiles as well as 29 cruise missiles launched by strategic bombers.

According to the Ukrainian presidency, 13 civilians were injured in districts of the city and four in the Kyiv region.

Debris from the missiles fell causing damage and casualties.

AFP journalists in Kiev heard loud explosions from 05:00 (local time and Greek time), as well as anti-aircraft fire.

“This terror continues day and night. It is possible to put an end to it thanks to global unity (…) This is completely possible if our partners show sufficient political will”, assured Zelensky, stressing that his country “needs the support” of the West.

He posted a video showing firefighters putting out the fire in residential buildings with smoke billowing from the windows.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kuleba, for his part, called on the US Congress to “save lives” by releasing the $60 billion in aid to Kiev, which has been blocked for months because of the political dispute between the democrats and the republicans.

Crossfires

On the Russian side, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported this morning new Ukrainian airstrikes that injured five people. The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously announced that 10 Ukrainian RM-70 Vampir rockets had been shot down.

Gladkov released photos showing apartment building facades with damage and broken glass panes. Yesterday, Wednesday, three people were killed and four wounded in a series of “massive” Ukrainian shelling of a border area of Belgorod regionwhich were carried out with multiple rocket launchersaccording to authorities.

In the face of increasing Ukrainian shelling, regional authorities decided this week to temporarily close schools in the border zones. Checkpoints are also to be installed at the entrance to villages near Ukraine, which have recently become theaters of armed incursions.

On the other side of the border, in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, five people were killed and ten injured yesterday, Wednesdayday-noon from a Russian strike, according to an updated account of the district attorney’s office.