Since yesterday in Avdiivka, the Donetsk oblast, following a so-called "lull", a new escalation is being observed, with occupiers making continued attempts to capture the city. This was stated by the head of the Avdiivka City Military Administration, Vitaliy Barabash, during a national Ukrainian news tv marathon on October 19.
"Shelling has continued throughout the night. Around the clock, we hear gunfire from the positions. They're firing everything they've got. The conditional 'reduction' in tension that we've seen for several days on our front, unfortunately, yesterday we observed the opposite—an escalation. The number of shelling incidents in the community's territory has increased, as well as the number of air-to-ground missile strikes, not only on our territory but also in the neighboring Ocheretynska community", - he explained.
Barabash acknowledges that the enemy doesn't give up on its attempts to encircle the city and "find weak spots in the defense line of the Ukrainian Armed Forces".
"They compensate for all their failures with the quantity and intensity of artillery and air-to-ground missile strikes", - added the official.
As previously reported, due to the escalation of the situation on the front line around Avdiivka, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the city was suspended.