Aerial photo after fresh snowfall in Kiev, Ukraine, November 22, 2023. It shows the monument to the Ukrainian Motherland with a shield with the coat of arms of the new Ukraine.
Kostya Liberov | Ribkos | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Russian forces continued to shell the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka on Thursday night, with shelling killing four people in the southern Kherson region, local officials said.
Since mid-October, Russia has been besieging and attempting to capture the town of Avdiivka, near Donetsk, which is home to a large coke factory and is the center of the Russian-controlled region.
Avdiivka Military Governor Vitaly Barabash told Ukraine’s Channel 24 on Thursday that Russian forces had launched the “heaviest” offensive ever against a besieged enemy. According to Reuters, Barabash said Russia was conducting up to 18 airstrikes a day, and in some cases more.
Prosecutors said three men and a woman were killed by Russian artillery fire in the southern Kherson region, as Ukrainian forces continued counterattacks in the country’s east and south, Reuters reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on Wednesday, in which he blamed Ukraine for the lack of progress in peace talks and asserted that Russia was ready to resume talks, were also used to urge Ukraine back to the negotiating table. Analysts said it was intended to put pressure on Western countries.
They say President Putin and other Russian officials routinely say the Kremlin is willing to negotiate an end to the war, while suggesting that the Kremlin maintains its main goals, such as territorial claims and regime change in Ukraine. He pointed out that he was making a point.
