Ukrainian military reports warding off Russian attacks on Avdiivka

The Ukrainian military has warded off renewed Russian attacks on the eastern town of Avdiivka in Donetsk province and on the left bank of the Dnipro river, the general staff reported from Kiev on Saturday.
Russian forces are continuing to try to encircle Avdiivka, an industrial town whose population has largely fled. Fighting around the town has been ongoing for months.
"Our warriors are maintaining their defence and causing significant casualties to the occupiers," the report said.
The Ukrainian general staff also said that Russian attempts to dislodge Ukrainian forces that have crossed the Dnipro in Kherson province had failed.
The Ukrainian air force reported downing numerous Russian drones. Odessa on the Black Sea was the target of attacks.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cast doubt in its report on Friday on comments by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made during a dpa interview to the effect that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has lost Ukraine altogether" and was facing a "major strategic defeat."
It noted that Ukrainian officials continued to warn that Russia was maintaining its maximalist objectives and goals for conquest of Ukrainian territory.