KYIV: 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 attack of Ukraine and Kyiv's foothold in the town appears increasingly shaky.
Capturing Avdiivka is key to Russia's aim of securing full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region.
"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."
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 Avdiivka was "hell" and "threatening and unstable", but that it had conducted a raid against Russian forces in parts of the town and inflicted heavy casualties.
The brigade took part in a counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine last summer and fought in the battle of Bakhmut.
"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.
President Volodymyr 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.
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. — Reuters
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