Live – Ukraine: North Korea helps Russia in “mass murder of Ukrainians”, Kiev accuses

Russian forces have stepped up their offensive in the direction of the front-line town of Doretsk in eastern Ukraine after a long lull, officials and AFP journalists said on Wednesday.

“After a long lull, the aggressor has become more active in the Doretsk sector,” the Ukrainian military general staff said during a briefing on Tuesday evening, vowing to “repulse the aggressors”. Russian forces launched “five offensive operations near New York, Bivnitchne and Bivtenne” around Doretsk, the latter said in another press release.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had “improved its tactical position” near several locations, including Doretsk. Military analysts affiliated with the Ukrainian military have reported Russian advances toward Doretsk, whose population was estimated at around 32,000 before a 2022 Russian invasion.

“21 houses were damaged” in the Doretsk region, according to Vadim Filach, governor of the Donetsk region. According to him, one resident was also killed and another wounded by Russian strikes near Pokrovsk, about fifty kilometers to the west and another particularly hot area of ​​the front.