Russia prevents Ukraine from crossing the Dnipro River, continues to attack the town of Avdiivka

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian “sabotage and reconnaissance” teams were stopped while trying to cross the river near the villages of Pridniprovke, Tiahynka and Krynky. Russia also said it destroyed Ukrainian soldiers, river-crossing equipment and vehicles near the village of Stanislav.

Russian Ngan Ukraine Vote Song Dnipro Continues Dissolving Cong Tran Avdiivka Picture 1 — The Dnipro River is the front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the Kherson region. Photo: Reuters

Earlier on Friday, the Institute for the Study of War, a US research group, said Ukrainian forces appeared to have broken through the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson.

Ukraine recaptured part of the Kherson region late last year after months of Russian occupation. Russian forces then withdrew from Kherson, the region’s largest city, to the other side of the Dnipro River. Fighting has raged on both sides of the river ever since.

In another development, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in its Sunday evening report, said Ukrainian forces repelled nearly 20 Russian attacks around the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk.

Avdiivka was briefly captured in 2014 when Donbas separatists seized lands in eastern Ukraine, but was later retaken by Ukrainian forces.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, told Espreso TV that “Avdiivka is important,” adding that Ukrainian forces were holding their ground.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Avdiivka and the nearby town of Maryinka was "particularly difficult. There are many Russian attacks. But our positions are holding."

Bui Huy (according to TASS, Reuters)

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