Fierce fighting has been going on in Avdiivka on the eastern front for the fifth day, Russia continues to deploy new forces, trying to surround the city, the head of the military administration in the area, Vitaliy Barabash, said. The bombardment was so powerful that rescuers could not get the victims out of the destroyed buildings, Barabash said.

Summarizing the latest events of the war in Ukraine

• Both Russia and the United States called the confrontation around Avdiivka a new Russian offensive.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyi thanked the troops in the areas where the fighting was “especially fierce”. “Thank you to everyone who holds their positions and destroys the Russian troops,” said the President of Ukraine, mentioning Avdiyivka, Maryinka and other key points of the Donetsk region.
• The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its forces shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea near the city of Sochi on Saturday morning. The mayor of the city said that there were no casualties or damage, the situation was under control.
• A senior Ukrainian general said fighting in the northeast had “significantly escalated” as daily Russian attacks continued.
• Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is likely to have strengthened its defensive and reactive posture following a series of strikes in August and September, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said. In its latest update on the situation, the ministry said the Russians had moved many of their assets, including ships and submarines capable of using cruise missiles, from Sevastopol to areas of operations in the east, such as Novorossiysk.