The Ukrainian military reported little change on the front line but there was heavy shelling from Russian forces on various parts of the front line in the Donetsk region.
The General Staff stated that more than 45 enemy attacks had been repulsed over the previous day, focusing on Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka.
It said there were 17 air strikes and more than 20 attacks by multiple launch rocket systems.
“In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy is trying to take complete control of the city of Bakhmut and continues to attack it,” the General Staff said.
According to the General Staff, in the west of the city, Ukrainian Defense Forces repulsed about 20 enemy attacks.
Commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces Oleksandr Sirsky posted on Telegram that in Bakhmut he met “soldiers and commanders who destroyed the myth of the invincibility of Wagner fighters and Russian paratroopers.”
Sirsky, citing the possibility of a future counter-attack, said that “the advance of our entire army depends on what each soldier is doing on his part of the front at the moment.”
The most intense fighting is northwest and west of the city of Donetsk – as the Russians have continued efforts for months to overrun Ukrainian defenses in Avdiivka and Marinka. The General Staff said that about 20 attacks had been foiled.
“Our forces have also had some operational successes in the Donetsk region. Our forces have taken some positions. They have taken more strategic and favorable positions,” said Oleksiy Dmitrashkivsky, an army spokesman in that region.
He also said that Russian special forces have been deployed in the area.
“The enemy is trying to attack our positions between Avdiivka and Marinka. These attempts do not stop. It should be noted that the enemy has suffered quite significant losses,” Dmitrashkivsky said.
He also claimed that the Russians “do not have the same amount of equipment and, as they themselves say, they are on a ‘diet’ of ammunition for attacks.”
Social media videos showed both sides engaged in heavy firing in the Avdiivka area, which is surrounded by the Russians on three sides.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, claimed that Russian forces were still advancing in the Avdiivka direction.
“It is still too early to talk about encirclement, but the situation is becoming, if not critical, then extremely difficult for the enemy… Having cleared Kamianka, our units are moving forward. There are difficulties with the terrain, which must be overcome, and there are also parallels with weather conditions. But these difficulties are mutual – both for the enemy and for us, “Pushilin said.