KYIV: Kyiv reported “heated” fighting around its eastern city of Avdiivka Saturday, saying Russian forces had “not stopped assaulting” the symbolic industrial hub for days in their attempt to surround it.
Ukraine last week said Russia had stepped up assaults on the frontline city, which lies just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Moscow-held Donetsk.
Avdiivka has been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, after it briefly fell to Russian-backed separatists.
Russian forces now control territory to the east, north and south of Avdiivka.
