Russian army tries to encircle Ukrainian forces at some positions in Avdiivka sector

Ukrainian officer Dmytro Lazutkin said this on Espreso TV.

"The situation remains difficult for quite some time. After the Ukrainian Defense Forces made a withdrawal maneuver on the line west of Avdiivka, the Russian army is trying to continue its offensive with assault operations. Heavy fighting continues. Now the invaders are trying to encircle some of our positions, dropping guided bombs almost every hour," he noted.

Nevertheless, the invading Russian forces are suffering huge losses in the Avdiivka sector, Lazutkin said.

"Our defenders are practicing very well with FPV drones and equipment. But we will monitor the situation and fight to prevent the invading troops from advancing further, there are grounds for this," he said.

According to official spokespersons, the Defense Forces have moved west of Lastochkyne. Lazutkin said the decision was predictable.

"It was quite predictable if you look at the elevation map. For some time, our troops held Stepove and Lastochkyne. Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces have moved a bit to more favorable positions. This can be seen from the elevation map and the location of water bodies on the ground," he added.

• On February 24, the DeepState monitoring platform reported that Russian troops had occupied Lastochkyno in the Donetsk region.
• According to the General Staff, Ukrainian defenders repelled 14 enemy attacks in the Avdiivka sector over the last day, including in the vicinity of Lastochkyne.
• On February 26, Dmytro Lykhoviy, a spokesman for the Tavria unit, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had withdrawn from the village of Lastochkyne, 6 km from the temporarily occupied Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, and were reinforcing the defense line to prevent the enemy from advancing.