Ukraine-Russia war live: Embarrassed Putin makes third attempt to capture city as air strikes increase

Ukrainian forces say they repelled a total of eight attacks on the strategic city of Avdiivka in the past 24 hours - as Putin makes an embarrassing third attempt to capture the area. It was earlier reported that Mr Putin was going to make a third attempt at capturing the city known for its large coking plant after failing twice before. Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration said Mr Putin’s troops “need” Avdiivka. “Quite simply, Avdiivka and its strategic position is geographically located on heights and you can see Donetsk... from here,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian area occupied by Russia. Some of the remaining civilians in Avdiivka include doctors and nurses. The town still has a shop and functioning hospital operating under every day shelling. War-time president Volodymyr Zelensky, in a speech on Monday, said fighting along the frontline has been “challenging”. He named Avdiivka, Maryinka, Bakhmut front, Lyman front, Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as the areas where fighting has been the fiercest. Read More Russian UN envoys shoot back at Western criticism of its Ukraine war and crackdown on dissidents Zelensky tells Ukrainians to brace for ‘enemy’ Putin’s winter attacks From Gaza to Ukraine, China to the EU: The major issues piling high in David Cameron’s in tray