The Russian army managed to enter the Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka, a hotbed of fighting in the country’s east, for the first time, but was repulsed, its mayor told AFP on Wednesday, in a new illustration of Moscow’s repeated attacks on Donbas.

“Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups entered the southern part of Avdiyivka, but were repulsed,” said Vitaly Barabach, calling the situation “complicated, but controlled.”

“Now they are gone, the Ukrainian army pushed them out and regained their positions,” he assured, but “the enemy continues to advance.”

Vitaly Barabach confirmed that this was the “first” invasion of Russian troops into this industrial city of the Donetsk region. But he did not specify when it happened and how long it lasted.

For months, Russian troops have been trying to surround Avdiivka, where Ukrainian troops are stationed in fortified positions.

It was one of the epicenters of hostilities after the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive last summer.

In July 2014, the city briefly came under the control of pro-Russian separatists armed by Moscow, and then returned to Ukrainian control. Now largely destroyed, it has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

According to the mayor, despite continuous shelling, about 1,078 civilians still live there.

Since the autumn and as a result of the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Moscow army has resumed the initiative, especially on the eastern front.

Last week, Russia claimed its rights to two small towns in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.

At the same time, Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of intensifying attacks on civilian areas.

On Tuesday, new mass attacks were directed at several Ukrainian cities, killing about twenty people.

Only in Kharkiv in the east of the country, 10 people were killed and another 70 injured as a result of the explosions, Oleg Sinegubov, the governor of the region, said on Wednesday.

It was one of the most “massive” attacks on the city since early 2022, he added.