KYIV: Ukraine said Friday that some of its soldiers were captured in fierce fighting in the beleaguered frontline city of Avdiivka that has become a main Russian target ahead of the second anniversary of its invasion.
As President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Berlin and Paris in a new bid to secure desperately needed military aid, Ukrainian generals said there was bitter fighting inside Avdiivka, which is surrounded by Russian forces on three sides. “Fierce battles are taking place within the city,” Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, the Ukrainian general commanding the zone, said on social media.
“Where necessary” Ukrainian forces were taking up “new positions,” Tarnavsky posted on Telegram. “Unfortunately, during one of these sorties, several of our soldiers were captured.”
The Ukrainian military said on its social media that Ukrainian troops were being reinforced and were “standing their ground.”
Russia has been trying to capture Avdiivka for months. Its fall would be a significant symbolic victory for Russia ahead of the February 24 anniversary of the start of the invasion, and its most significant territorial gain since it seized Bakhmut last May.
A Ukrainian army spokesman said the “complicated” operation of bringing in supplies and evacuating the few hundred civilians who remained had started.
“Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington, citing Ukrainian reports.
Zelensky said Kyiv was sending as much support as possible to the region.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure that our warriors have enough managerial and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible,” Zelensky said during his evening address.
The battle for the industrial hub, less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the city of Donetsk, has been one of the bloodiest of the two-year war.
Many compare it to the battle for Bakhmut, in which tens of thousands of soldiers were killed.
Ukrainian leaders have highlighted the increasingly difficult situation on eastern frontlines because of ammunition shortages and fresh Russian attacks.
Zelensky late Friday signed a security pact with France, after earlier in the day securing a similar deal with Germany. Both accords include military assistance and security arrangements.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the US House of Representatives are blocking authorizing $60 billion in new military aid for Ukraine.
A research institute that monitors assistance estimated Friday that the European Union will have to double its military support to Ukraine to fill a gap left by the United States.
“It is highly uncertain whether the US will send further military aid in 2024,” the Germany-based Kiel Institute said in a report.
According to its data up to January 15, 2024, the United States sent 42.2 billion euros ($45.4 billion) in military aid to Ukraine between February 2022 and December 2023, at a rate of around two billion euros a month.
The European Union and its 27 members have promised 49.7 billion euros of military aid since the start of the war, but have delivered or earmarked just 35.2 billion euros.
Ukraine says ‘fierce’ fighting inside symbolic frontline town
https://arab.news/2uy8h
Ukraine says ‘fierce’ fighting inside symbolic frontline town
- “Fierce battles are taking place within the city,” Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, the Ukrainian general commanding the zone, said
- “Unfortunately, during one of these sorties, several of our soldiers were captured”
UK secures migrant return deal with Angola, Namibia; DRC faces visa curbs
LONDON: Angola and Namibia have agreed to accept the return of illegal migrants and criminals after the British government threatened visa penalties for countries refusing to cooperate, the UK Home Office said late on Saturday.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been stripped of fast-track visa services and preferential treatment for VIPs and decision-makers after failing to meet Britain’s requirements to improve cooperation, the Home Office said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Britain could escalate measures to a complete halting of visas for the DRC unless “co-operation rapidly improves.”
“We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back,” the Home Secretary added.
The agreements mark the first major change under reforms announced last month to make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally in Britain.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK has “removed more than 50,000 people with no right to remain” since July last year, a 23 percent increase on the previous period, and instructed diplomats to make returns a top priority.
