Since mid-April, Russian assaults in these areas of the Eastern front have doubled in intensity and are expected to continue until the arrival of Western munitions, eagerly awaited by the Ukrainians who are sorely lacking them. Among the latest Russian successes to date, the conquests of Otcheretyne and Soloviové, claimed in recent days by Moscow. On Sunday, plumes of black smoke rose into the sky in the area, testifying to ongoing bombings and fighting, AFP noted.
Otcheretyne, which had some 3,000 inhabitants before the war, is located a dozen kilometers north of Avdiïvka, seized by Moscow in February. After the capture of this highly symbolic fortress city, the Russian forces, better armed and more numerous, gained ground towards the West. But it was from mid-April that their advance accelerated on Otcheretyne, finally conquered in just two weeks.