Ukrainian forces withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne, located 6 km from Avdiivka in the Donetsk Oblast, the spokesman for the Operational and Strategic Group Tavria Dmytro Lykhoviy, said on a national TV broadcast on 26 February.
A day before, analysts from the DeepState project reported that Russian troops had taken the village. However, Lykhoviy claimed
Ukraine’s Defense Forces only withdrew to the western outskirts of Lastochkyne village, where they took up prepared defensive positions.
According to Lykhoviy, the Ukrainian military withdrew from the village and now plans to organize a defense along the line of settlements Orlivka, Tonenke, and Berdychi to prevent the advance of Russian troops westward.
The hottest spots reportedly remain in the Avdiivka and Maryanka directions. In the Avdiivka direction, our troops repelled 25 enemy attacks. In the Maryanka direction, they repelled 40. According to the spokesperson, this is the highest rate in recent days.
"Despite Russia’s pressure, Ukrainian units are actively defending, acting maneuverable," Likhovoi said.
He also said that Russia increased the number of air strikes in the said operational area in the past day 45. There were also 72 assault actions, 897 artillery shelling, and 83 drone kamikaze strikes.
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