Russia targets key city while attacking eastern Ukraine

Russia launched relentless assaults against Ukrainian troops in the eastern part of the country, pounding the city of Avdiivka for the fifth straight day on Saturday.

“The enemy has not stopped either assaulting or shelling positions” around Avdiivka, city head Vitalii Barabash told Ukrainian television.

Barabash also reported Moscow deployed additional forces to encircle the strategically important city in the eastern Donetsk region, situated just north of the Moscow-held regional capital, also called Donetsk.

“Russians have set a new date for reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk region – December 31. That is why it is important for them to take Avdiivka,” said Barabash, according to a post on X by Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

As the Russia-Ukraine War nears its second winter, about 1,600 civilians remain in Avdiivka, a fraction of its prewar population of about 31,000.

Russia appeared to be taking heavy losses — reports on social media called the fight a “meat grinder. The Institute for the Study of War pointed to Russian military bloggers that said the Ukranian forces were using minefields to slow down Russia’s advance, and that Russian soldiers were griping that “worn out barrels are reducing the accuracy of Russian artillery” being used in the fight.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Friday said the United States believes Russian troops haven’t made much progress in the assault, adding the new attacks are “not a surprise.”

“The Russian military appears to be using human wave tactics where they throw masses of poorly trained soldiers right into the battlefield without proper equipment, and apparently without proper training and preparation,” he told Politico.

With Post wires.