British intelligence: Russia has launched a coordinated offensive in several directions in eastern Ukraine

The Russians are concentrating their main strike on Avdiivka, which has been on the front line since 2014.

This is reported by the UK Ministry of Defence on Twitter.

British intelligence indicates that the city is a serious obstacle on the way of Russian forces to achieve their broader goal of controlling Donetsk region.

The Russian attack is likely to be carried out with several armoured battalions attempting to encircle the city. It is likely to be the most significant offensive operation carried out by Russia since at least January 2023," the report said.

At the same time, Ukrainian forces are so far holding back the Russian offensive, while the latter are losing heavy equipment and personnel.

Slow progress and heavy losses have probably led to a shift in Russia's messaging from offensive to 'active defence' as the successful capture of Avdiivka looks increasingly unlikely in the short term," the UK defence ministry said.

According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russia is likely to have deployed units from at least two brigades of the Central Military District to reinforce the forces' offensive in the Avdiivka area.

As Socialportal previously reported, Russian terrorists have stepped up their offensive on Avdiivka in Donetsk region. The invaders expect to reach the administrative borders by 31 December this year.