Russia Ukraine war: US warns key Avdiivka ‘could fall to Putin’s forces’ as Belgorod shopping centre hit

The Ukrainian city of Avdiivka is at risk of falling to Russian forces, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday, citing Ukrainian troops’ lack of artillery ammunition.

Ukraine said on Thursday it was withdrawing troops from some parts of the eastern town to better positions after months of heavy fighting.

Ukraine said on Thursday it was withdrawing troops from some parts of the eastern town of Avdiivka to better positions after months of heavy fighting, and battle-hardened reserve fighters from a crack brigade have joined the battle.

Russia is trying to encircle and capture Avdiivka nearly two years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv’s foothold in the town appears increasingly shaky, with its supply lines threatened.

Capturing Avdiivka is key to Russia’s aim of securing full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region, and could hand President Vladimir Putin a battlefield victory to hold up to voters as he seeks re-election next month.

“In Avdiivka a manoeuvre is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force (the Russians) out of positions,” Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments.

“Therefore the key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiivka and evacuations from there are difficult.”

He said the military had activated a “reserve logistics artery” that had been prepared in advance.

One of Ukraine’s most prominent fighting units, the Third Assault Brigade, said it had been rushed to Avdiivka to reinforce Kyiv’s troops there.

The brigade, which comprises assault infantry, said the situation in Avdiivka was “hell” and “threatening and unstable”, but that it had conducted a raid against Russian forces in parts of the town and inflicted heavy casualties.

Seven people including a one-year-old girl were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Thursday on the southern Russian city of Belgorod, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Eighteen other people, including four children, were hospitalised with injuries, with six in serious condition, Gladkov said, adding that four people, including two children, had already been released for outpatient treatment. He said the dead child’s name was Valentina.

“We are all grieving with the families and friends of the victims,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram. “I want to express my sincere condolences, realising that there are no words that can comfort this grief.”

Later Gladkov said that another four injured, including two children, would be treated in Moscow.

Belgorod is the nearest major Russian city to the border with Ukraine, and the city and surrounding region have come under frequent attack since February 2022, when Russia sent its forces into Ukraine in what it calls a “special military operation”.

Ukraine has sent battle-hardened troops from a crack unit into the “hell” of fighting in the key eastern town of Avdiivka – as Kyiv seeks to keep it out of the hands of Vladimir Putin’s forces.

After months of heavy fighting, Russia is trying to encircle and capture Avdiivka and use it as a stepping stone towards its aim of taking full control of the industrial region of Donbas, made up of the areas of Donetsk – where Avdiivka sits – and Luhansk. Ukraine has vowed to ensure Russia advances no further into its territory, with the fight for control of Avdiivka taking on a symbolic significance to both sides on a level similar to the town of Bakhmut roughly 60 miles away.

Poland detained a man working for Russian intelligence who planned to commit acts of sabotage including setting fire to facilities in the western city of Wroclaw, security services said.

A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies, accusing Moscow and its ally Belarus of trying to destabilise it.

“The Internal Security Agency received information that a Ukrainian citizen, acting on behalf of the Russian secret services, was planning to set fire to facilities in Wroclaw that are located close to elements of strategically important infrastructure,” the security services said in a statement.

Russian military bloggers and a former Kremlin adviser said that Moscow had fired the commander of its Black Sea fleet, a day after Ukraine said it had destroyed a large Russian ship.

There was no official confirmation of the dismissal of Admiral Viktor Sokolov. The Russian defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Sokolov took up his command in September 2022, according to the ministry’s website, a few months into Russia’s war in Ukraine.

His appointment followed a series of humiliations for the Black Sea fleet, including the sinking of its lead warship, the Moskva, by Ukrainian missiles.

The US Justice Department said it disrupted a Russian intelligence-controlled hacking network.

“The Justice Department is accelerating our efforts to disrupt the Russian government’s cyber campaigns against the United States and our allies, including Ukraine,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Armed with a court order, the FBI in January disabled a “global cyber espionage platform” built by Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, more commonly known as the GRU, according to the announcement.