Russians intensify efforts near Avdiivka - Defense Forces

Spokesperson for the Tavria Group of Troops Oleksandr Shtupun said this during the nationwide United News telethon on Ukrainian television, Ukrinform reports.

"The enemy intensified efforts in the Avdiivka direction. In addition to infantry, it uses a significant number of armored vehicles. Ukrainian forces repelled 35 attacks by invaders," Shtupun said.

According to him, the enemy launched 58 attacks in the area of responsibility of the Defense Forces of the Tavria direction in the past day. Russian troops launched 20 airstrikes and over 1,000 artillery shelling attacks.

At the same time, the spokesman stated that the Russian army’s losses increased sharply. They started to deploy units that include convicted persons. "The enemy’s total losses have increased by almost 30 percent compared to the previous days," Shtupun said.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Russian army lost about 10,000 troops, more than 100 tanks and seven Su-25 aircraft over a month of active assaults on Avdiivka, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi.