Russian forces are advancing on Ukrainian towns from all sides. The senior official of the town was cited as stating on Monday that Russian soldiers are stepping up their efforts to seize the town of Avdiivka, which is located in eastern Ukraine. Additionally, after weeks of battle, they attempt to advance on all sides of the town.

Since the middle of October, Russian soldiers have been continuously launching land- and air-based strikes on Avdiivka, which serves as the focal point of their slow-moving drive across the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine in the conflict that has been going on for 21 months.

Vitaliy Barabash, the head of the military administration in Avdiivka, reported the most recent drive after reports from the previous week suggested that Ukrainian soldiers had made some progress in halting and pushing back the Russian advance.

There has been an increase in the level of difficulty in the Avdiivka sector. In an interview with Espresso TV, Barabash stated that the severity of the conflicts has been steadily escalating for some time.

“The Russians have opened up two additional sectors from which they have begun launching attacks. These sectors are in the direction of Donetsk, and the so-called industrial zone is where they have launched their assaults. The adversary is trying to assault the city from every conceivable direction.

After several months of fighting in the town famous for its enormous coking factory, the authorities have stated that no building has been preserved. Out of the 32,000 people living there before the war, fewer than 1,500 are left.

The industrial zone and the coking factory have been the primary targets of most of the fighting.

In an earlier statement, Barabash stated that Ukrainian troops had, over the last several days, driven back Russian soldiers to Stepove, which is a settlement located to the northwest of Avdiivka and pinned them down along a rail line.

Even though the struggle for the town is rarely mentioned in official Russian military dispatches, Ukrainian and Western military analysts have reported that Russia has suffered significant casualties.

Recently, Russian military bloggers stated that Ukrainian forces had made progress in the vicinity of Avdiivka. On Monday, reports from Russia stated that Moscow’s soldiers had successfully taken control of the industrial zone and were making an effort to raid the coking factory.

Reuters was not able to confirm the reports from either side. Rebels, with Russia’s support, who had taken over sizable portions of eastern Ukraine in 2014, temporarily took control of the city of Avdiivka.

Since Moscow started its full-scale assault in February 2022, the town has been able to withstand attacks because of the fortifications that were later constructed around it. These fortifications are considered a doorway to the Russian-held regional center of Donetsk.

The Ukrainian government initiated a counteroffensive in June but has only achieved slight gains in the country’s east and south. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has refuted that the conflict has reached a “stalemate.” He has recognized the gradual progress that has been made.

Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, claimed in an interview with the news website Liga.net that the bad weather and strong winds were impeding both sides’ use of drones.

According to Shtupun, Russian troops claimed numerous casualties close to Avdiivka and Maryinka, which are located nearby. Maryinka is another town that has been substantially damaged and whose control has been challenged for several months.

“Our defenders are holding their ground,” Shtupun said in an interview with Liga’s website. “We are fighting and will continue to fight despite the weather.”