Ukraine claims it shot down a Russian attack helicopter in fierce street battle for Avdiivka city

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces claimed Thursday to have shot down a Russian assault helicopter in jap Ukraine close to town of Avdiivka, the place troopers are combating from road to road as Russia’s military steps up its four-month marketing campaign to encompass Kyiv’s defending troops.

Ukrainian troopers used a transportable anti-aircraft missile to take down the Ka-52 Alligator assault helicopter, one of many Russian air power’s deadliest weapons, in keeping with Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of Ukrainian models combating on the southeastern entrance line.

The roughly 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) line of contact has shifted little throughout current months of wintry climate. However because the struggle in Ukraine nears its two-year anniversary, Avdiivka has grow to be “a major focus” of Moscow’s forces, the U.Ok. Protection Ministry mentioned in an evaluation Thursday.

Road-to-street fight is going down within the metropolis as Ukrainian troops search to maintain open their important provide route amid intense bombardment, the ministry mentioned on X, previously generally known as Twitter.

The Normal Workers of Ukraine’s armed forces reported Thursday that its troops had fended off 40 enemy assaults round Avdiivka over the earlier 24 hours. That’s roughly double the variety of day by day Russian assaults at different factors alongside the entrance line.

Russia’s Pravda newspaper reported Thursday that the Russian military was making an attempt to chop a key logistics provide route for Ukraine within the village of Lastochkyne, about 6 kilometers (4 miles) west of Avdiivka.

The Russian navy has used digital warfare to take out the Starlink communications system which Ukrainian troops use to speak, Pravda mentioned.

Ukraine has constructed a number of defenses in Avdiivka, full with concrete fortifications and a community of tunnels. Regardless of huge losses of personnel and tools, Russian troops have slowly superior since October.

The combat has developed right into a grotesque effort for either side. It has been in comparison with the 9 months of combating for Bakhmut, the Ukraine struggle’s longest and bloodiest battle. It ended with Russia capturing the bombed-out, abandoned metropolis final Could in what Moscow hailed as a significant triumph.

Each Bakhmut and Avdiivka are situated in Ukraine’s Donetsk area. Moscow-backed rebels seized a part of the area in 2014 and Russia illegally annexed all of it in 2022 with three different Ukrainian areas.

Russia desires to seize your entire Donetsk area, the place it presently holds simply over half of the territory.

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Comply with AP’s protection of the struggle in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine