Editor's note: This story is being updated.
Small Russian assault groups broke into the town of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast, but their advance was blocked at a local plant, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, told Army TV on May 8.
Krasnohorivka lies roughly 30 kilometers west of the occupied city of Donetsk, and Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to break into the settlement after the fall of Avdiivka in late February.
Ukrainian soldiers stopped Russian assault groups on the territory of the Krasnohorivka refractory plant, according to Voloshyn. The city is "under full control" of Ukraine's defense forces, he said.
"(The Russian soldiers) are still there. The enemy is cut off from the supply of ammunition. Our defenders have full fire control over both Krasnohorivka and the outskirts of the town," the spokesperson said.
Fighting near Krasnohorivka is reportedly ongoing. Russian forces are also conducting assaults near the villages of Netailove and Pervomaiske in Donetsk Oblast, Voloshyn said.
Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, which covers much of Donetsk Oblast.
Russian forces have been focusing their efforts near Chasiv Yar, which they see as crucial for further advances toward Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, the Ukrainian military reported.
Ukrainian troops retreated in late April west from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. The Khortytsia Group of Ukraine's Ground Forces said that Russian forces also managed to break in and gain a foothold in a part of the village of Ocheretyne in the region.
Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), said that Ukraine should expect to face a renewed Russian offensive in late spring or early summer, with the offensive intensifying around the eastern Donbas region.
Russia aims to completely occupy Donetsk, Luhansk, and, if possible, Zaporizhzhia oblasts in 2024, said Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraine's Ground Forces commander.
Francis Farrell
