Moscow (EFE).- Russian troops are trying to control the town of Krasnohirivka, north of Donetsk, the regional capital, in an attempt to tighten the siege of Avdíivka, an important Ukrainian stronghold in the east of the country, reported today the former spokesman for pro-Russian militias, Eduard Basurin.
“The town is practically liberated, cleaning is taking place on the outskirts” of the Ukrainian units, the retired colonel told TASS.
According to Basurin, “the complete liberation of Krasnohirivka will allow the Russian troops to tighten the pincers around Avdiivka more firmly.”
The pro-Russians denounce that the Ukrainian troops bombard the city of Donetsk and other nearby cities from Avdíivka, a fortified city to the north of the regional capital that the Russian forces have tried to take practically since the beginning of the campaign.
The Russian military has also reported that it occupies favorable positions in the industrial zone of the Bakhmut AZOM metallurgical plant.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic Andrei Marochko told the Russian agency TASS that “in the city of Artiomovsk (Russian name for Bakhmut) assault groups occupied favorable positions in the industrial zone of the AZOM metal processing.
Ukrainian forces repel 92 Russian attacks in Donbas
For its part, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reported that Ukrainian troops repelled 92 enemy attacks in Donbas in five directions over the past day.
According to the statement published on Facebook and collected by “Ukrainska Pravda”, “the main objective of the enemy during the day remained attempts to reach the administrative limits of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”
“For this, the enemy concentrated its main efforts on carrying out offensive actions in the directions of Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka and Shakhtarsk. Thanks to professional and coordinated actions, our defenders repelled 92 enemy attacks in these directions, ”he specifies.
The General Staff also indicated that the aviation of the defense forces carried out six attacks against areas of concentration of personnel and military equipment of the occupants during the day.