KYIV: Ukrainian troops are facing "heavy fire" from advancing Russian forces in the southern Zaporizhzhia region after Moscow made its most significant territorial gain in nine months last week, Ukrainian army figures said on Monday.
Moscow's forces are back on the offensive across eastern and southern Ukraine, and have forced Kyiv into a hasty withdrawal from the town of Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region, securing their first major gain since the capture of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Senior Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Tarnavsky said Monday that Russia was now launching multiple attacks near the village of Robotyne -- one of the few places where Ukraine had managed to regain ground during last year's counter-offensive.
Russia was trying to advance with "small assault groups with the involvement of several units of armoured vehicles," he said.
"These offensive attempts are being halted, the enemy is being eliminated in the outskirts of Robotyne," Tarnavsky, who commands Ukraine's forces in the area, said in a post on Telegram.
Reports from Russian military bloggers had earlier said Moscow's forces were in the southern edges of the village.
"The situation is dynamic here, the enemy is inflicting heavy fire," Tarnavsky's spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy said.
Like many areas across eastern Ukraine, Robotyne has been completely flattened by months of artillery fire.
Ukraine's defences have been stretched in recent weeks by shortages in ammunition and manpower.
Lykhoviy said the Russians were "regrouping" after Ukraine withdrew from Avdiivka and "will probably transfer units to other sectors."
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the capture of Avdiivka as an "important victory" for his troops, just days before the two-year anniversary of Russia's attack on February 24.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's prime minister urged Japan's government and private sector on Monday to step up support for the country's reconstruction, promising an "economic miracle" once the almost two-year-old war with Russia ends.
"Since the full-scale attack started, Japan has provided Ukraine with over $10 billion of various support," making it the fourth-biggest donor, Denys Shmygal told a conference of around 300 government and business leaders from Japan and Ukraine. "Thanks to this funding during this terrible war caused by Russia, millions of Ukrainian people have been able to survive," Shmygal said
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had also been due to address the gathering in Tokyo by video link but this was cancelled, organisers said without elaborating.
The conference comes after Russian forces recaptured the eastern Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka and as $60 billion in US military aid remains stalled in Congress.
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