Forces in Ukraine said they have shot down three Russian fighters, countering dozens of attacks on the frontline.
Military officials in Kyiv said they repelled a number of attacks across the 600-mile frontline over the past 24 hours.
The Ukrainian military said there had been Russian attacks in all five regions through which the frontline bisects. A spokesperson claimed officials shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers overnight.
The majority of these attacks took place in Donetsk Oblast, notably around the Avdiivka area where Russia has made recent advances.
There has been extensive fighting around AvdiivkaReuters/WikiCommonsUkrainian military chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said: "The enemy continues active offensive actions in many areas of the front line. The situation is particularly tense in the Avdiivka and Zaporizhzhia sectors."
It comes after Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from the city of Avdiivka on February 17.
Syrskyi said on social media: "After successful combat operations against an enemy aircraft in the night on 29 February, two more Russian aircraft were destroyed: Su-34 fighter-bombers in the Avdiivka and Mariupol sectors."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have downed four Russian drones in central and northeastern regions. A spokesperson said: "Mobile fire groups of the Defence Forces destroyed four [Iranian-made] Shaheds within the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions."
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Ukrainian military chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation was "tense"
Reuters
Ukraine has already withdrawn from the villages of Lastochkyne, Stepove and Sieverne as they have been unable to hold defensive positions hastily erected after a delayed abandonment of Avdiivka.
This shortage of artillery is considered the main principle reason for Russia’s takeover of Avdiivka and the subsequent advance northwesterly.
Ukraine's military and President Volodymyr Zelensky have said that troops lack equipment and ammunition needed to repel Russian attacks because of a shortage of Western aid.
Britain became the latest country to push back against Emmanuel Macron after the French president refused to rule out deploying Nato troops to Ukraine.
Mourners begin to gather at the funeral of opposition politician Alexei Navalny
Reuters
Meanwhile, Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny will be buried in Moscow amid tight security and fears of a police crackdown.
It is two weeks after the politician suddenly died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony.
Navalny's allies, who have promised to livestream the day's events online, have accused President Vladimir Putin of having him murdered because the Russian leader could allegedly not tolerate the thought of Navalny being freed in a potential prisoner swap.
The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death and has said it is unaware of any agreement to free Navalny. His death certificate, according to allies, said he died of natural causes.
