WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine withdraws units from parts of Avdiivka, sends in crack brigade
Ukraine said on Thursday it was withdrawing troops from some parts of the eastern town of Avdiivka to better positions after months of heavy fighting, and battle-hardened reserve fighters from a crack brigade have joined the battle.
Russia is trying to encircle and capture Avdiivka nearly two years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv's foothold in the town appears increasingly shaky, with its supply lines threatened.
Capturing Avdiivka is key to Russia's aim of securing full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region, and could hand President Vladimir Putin a battlefield victory to hold up to voters as he seeks re-election next month.
"In Avdiivka a manoeuvre is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force (the Russians) out of positions," Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments.
"Therefore the key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiivka and evacuations from there are difficult."
He said the military had activated a "reserve logistics artery" that had been prepared in advance.
"The situation on the front - Avdiivka, the east in general. We are doing everything possible to ensure that our soldiers have sufficient managerial and technological capabilities to preserve as many Ukrainian lives as possible," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
One of Ukraine's most prominent fighting units, the Third Assault Brigade, said it had been rushed to Avdiivka to reinforce Kyiv's troops there.
The brigade, which comprises assault infantry, said the situation in Avdiivkawas "hell" and "threatening and unstable", but that it had conducted a raid against Russian forces in parts of the town and inflicted heavy casualties.
Reuters could not independently verify the statements.
The brigade took part in a counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine last summer and fought in the battle of Bakhmut, another town in eastern Ukraine that held out for many months before being captured last May.
"The enemy is continuing the active rotation of its troops (around Avdiivka) and is deploying new forces and equipment to the town," the brigade said on the Telegram messenger.
"The situation at the moment the brigade was brought in was extremely critical."
The unit's deputy commander, Maksym Zhorin, said the fighting was much fiercer than the battle of Bakhmut and that Kyiv's forces were outnumbered and outgunned in Avdiivka.
UKRAINE FACES MILITARY CHALLENGES
Russian forces have been trying to advance on the town since October and have surrounded it on three sides, leaving limited resupply routes for the Ukrainian troops dug in there.
Lykhoviy said Russia had concentrated around 50,000 troops on the Avdiivka front, and fighting in the city involved Russian tactical assault groups that were small but growing in size.
"Armoured groups in the form of tanks and other armoured vehicles are joining them," he said.
Ukraine's war effort is facing big challenges and uncertainty over the future of U.S. military assistance.
Tired troops, some of whom have been fighting for almost two years and are deployed along a sprawling 1,000-km (620-mile) front, are facing critical shortages of artillery rounds.
Zelenskiy replaced his popular army chief last week and is set this week to visit France and Germany, where he is likely to seek support for urgent new military assistance.
Avdiivka, where fewer than 1,000 residents are left of a pre-war population of 32,000, lies just north of the Russian-held bastion of Donetsk which Ukraine lost control of in 2014 when Moscow's proxies began an uprising.
The town has a vast coking plant that has stopped functioning during the war.
Both sides see Avdiivka as key to Russia gaining full control of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and as a gateway to Donetsk city, residential areas of which have been shelled by Ukraine, sometimes from Avdiivka, Russian officials say.
** Three civilians killed in Russian airstrike on Kharkiv region - governor
A Russian airstrike killed at least three people and injured two more in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Thursday, local governor Oleh Sinehubov said.
Two bombs hit a car carrying civilians and set a residential building on fire, Sinehubov said. He posted several photographs of a badly damaged burning building and a wrecked car.
Reuters could not independently verify the report or images.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against its neighbour in February 2022.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russian forces strike Ukrainian aircraft engine-, ammo-producing plants over past day
Russian forces delivered a combined strike against Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises rolling out aircraft engines and mortar ammunition over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
"In the morning, the Russian Armed Forces delivered a combined strike by airborne and seaborne long-range precision weapons against Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises engaged in the production and repairs of aircraft engines, radio-electronic and communications equipment and mortar ammunition, and also against the factories producing fuel for the Ukrainian army’s military hardware. The goal of the strike was achieved. All the targets were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces destroy more than 100 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area over past day
Russian forces destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian troops, a multiple rocket launcher and two artillery guns in the Kupyansk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"In the Kupyansk direction, units of the western battlegroup inflicted damage on enemy manpower and equipment in areas near the settlements of Berestovoye and Peschanoye in the Kharkov Region and Makeyevka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and repelled an attack by an assault group of the 30th mechanized brigade near the settlement of Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region. The Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to 105 personnel, three motor vehicles, a Grad multiple launch rocket system, a French-made Caesar self-propelled artillery system and a Gvozdika motorized artillery gun," the ministry said.
Ukraine’s army loses 305 troops in Krasny Liman area over past day
The Ukrainian military lost roughly 305 troops and 15 armored vehicles in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, the ministry reported.
Units of Russia’s battlegroup Center improved their forward edge positions and repulsed two attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 60th and 63rd mechanized brigades near the settlements of Yampolovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Krasny Liman direction over the past 24 hours, the ministry specified.
"The enemy’s losses amounted to 305 personnel, 15 armored combat vehicles, including a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, 14 motor vehicles, a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery gun and a D-30 howitzer," the ministry said.
Russian forces repulse 10 Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces repulsed ten Ukrainian army attacks and kept improving their positions in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"In the Donetsk direction, units of the southern battlegroup gained more advantageous frontiers and positions, repulsed 10 enemy attacks and inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 17th tank, 79th air assault, 72nd mechanized and 112th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Krasnoye, Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, Leninskoye, Konstantinovka and Paraskoviyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.
Kiev suffers 360 casualties in Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Donetsk area, killing and wounding roughly 360 enemy troops and destroying a US-made Bradley combat vehicle over the past day, the ministry reported.
"The Ukrainian army lost as many as 360 troops, a tank, three armored combat vehicles, including a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, and also 27 motor vehicles. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, two US-made M777 artillery systems, an FH70 howitzer and an L119 howitzer of UK manufacture, a Msta-B howitzer, a D-30 howitzer and three D-20 howitzers," the ministry said.
Russian forces strike four Ukrainian army brigades in south Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces struck four Ukrainian army brigades in the south Donetsk area, eliminating roughly 200 enemy troops over the past day, the ministry reported.
"In the south Donetsk direction, units of the battlegroup East inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 58th infantry, 72nd mechanized, 128th and 127th territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Vodyanoye, Vladimirovka and Urozhainoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Priyutnoye in the Zaporozhye Region. The Ukrainian army lost as many as 200 personnel, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles and eight motor vehicles," the ministry said.
In counter-battery fire, Russian forces destroyed a UK-made FH70 howitzer, two US-manufactured M198 howitzers and a Gvozdika motorized artillery system, the ministry specified.
Russian forces strike two Ukrainian army brigades in Kherson area over past day
Russian forces inflicted damage on two Ukrainian army brigades in the Kherson area, eliminating roughly 20 enemy troops and a US-made artillery system over the past day, the ministry reported.
"In the Kherson direction, Russian air strikes and artillery fire inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the [Ukrainian army’s] 35th marine infantry brigade and 126th territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Tyaginka, Ivanovka and Yantarnoye in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.
The Ukrainian army’s losses in the Kherson direction over the last 24 hours amounted to 20 personnel, two motor vehicles, a US-made M777 artillery system and a D-30 howitzer, the ministry specified.
Russian air defenses down Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near Kramatorsk
Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 aircraft near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.
Russian air defenses down 95 Ukrainian UAVs over past day
Russian air defense forces intercepted eight rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and an American JDAM smart bomb and destroyed 95 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Over the last 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted eight rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and a JDAM air guided bomb of US manufacture. In addition, they destroyed 95 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Zhitlovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Soledar, Volnovakha and Yelenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lyubimovka, Inzhenernoye, Pologi and Ocheretovatoye in the Zaporozhye Region and Velikiye Kopani in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.
Russian forces strike Ukrainian troops in more than 100 areas over past day
Russian forces inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army’s personnel and military hardware in more than 100 areas over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Operational/tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of Russian groupings of forces struck a command post of the Ukrainian army’s 72nd mechanized brigade, and also manpower and military equipment in 102 areas," the ministry said.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 571 warplanes, 266 helicopters, 12,485 unmanned aerial vehicles, 469 surface-to-air missile systems, 15,056 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,221 multiple rocket launchers, 8,061 field artillery guns and mortars and 18,729 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.
Reuters/Tass