US warns Russia could soon take over Ukraine's Avdiivka city

The United States believes that Ukraine's eastern town of Avdiivka could soon fall to Russia. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Ukraine is running low on ammunition and that Russia could take advantage of the situation.

"Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing Ukraine's ammunition shortages at Thursday's briefing.

Kirby said Avdiivka could fall largely "because the Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition".

"Russia is sending wave after wave of conscript forces to attack Ukrainian positions. And because Congress has yet to pass the supplemental bill, we have not been able to provide Ukraine with the artillery shells that they desperately need to disrupt these Russian assaults.

"Russian forces are now reaching Ukrainian trenches in Avdiivka, and they're beginning to overwhelm Ukrainian defences."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised “maximum attention” on the eastern front, where both side's forces are engaged in one of the fiercest fighting in recent months.

Russia has been trying to capture the city since October and has surrounded it on three sides, leaving limited resupply routes for Ukrainian forces.

For Russia, capturing Avdiivka is a crucial aim as it would allow it complete control of the two eastern Donbas provinces — Donetsk and Luhansk.

Zelensky, who arrived in Germany on Friday before heading to France later in the day, said his government was sending to the region as much support as possible.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that our warriors have enough managerial and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible,” Zelensky said during his evening address.

Ukraine military said that its troops have withdrawn from some positions in Avdiivka.

“New positions have been prepared and powerful fortifications continue to be prepared, taking into account all possible scenarios,” said Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, the Ukrainian commander responsible for forces in the south-east of the country, in a statement on social media on Friday.

“Our troops are using all available forces and means to restrain the enemy,” he added.