Russia has significantly stepped up fighting to capture the devastated eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian army said Monday. The number of Russian airstrikes is increasing around the city and Russian ground forces are trying to control the area.

Russia will suffer heavy losses, with 3,000 to 4,000 people killed and between 7,000 and 8,000 injured, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian troops were also said to be holding out on other parts of the 1,000km-long front and repelling Russian attacks, the news agency reported. Reuters.

The Russian army is focusing on eastern Ukraine, having failed to advance towards Kyiv in the early days of the invasion. Since mid-October, the army has been trying to capture Avdiivka, a town 20 km from the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.

“Fighting is still ongoing. Over the last two days, the invaders have increased the number of airstrikes using guided bombs from Su-35 aircraft,” Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun told state television.

“The enemy also brought more infantry into the battle. But when they tried to use armored vehicles the day before yesterday, two tanks and fourteen other vehicles caught fire.” Ukrainian forces are believed to have thwarted eight attacks on the city in the past 24 hours, he said.

Vitaliy Barabash, head of the Avdiivka military administration, said “not a single building” in the town was undamaged. Nearly the entire population has now been evacuated, and only 1,500 of the 32,000 original residents are said to remain in the city.

According to Barabash, Avdiivka is of great strategic importance for Russia due to its high-altitude location. “You can see Donetsk from here and that’s what they need,” Barabash said. (Editorial)