Russian Forces Pound Avdiivka for Fourth Straight Day

Ukrainian forces in Donetsk (AFP)
Ukrainian forces in Donetsk (AFP)
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Russian Forces Pound Avdiivka for Fourth Straight Day

Ukrainian forces in Donetsk (AFP)
Ukrainian forces in Donetsk (AFP)

Russian forces pounded the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka for the fourth day in a row on Friday.

In attacks elsewhere in Ukraine, a Russian missile strike killed one person in the city of Pokrovsk, also in the east, while a drone attack in the south killed a women and seriously injured her husband.

"The fighting has been going on for four consecutive days," Vitaliy Barabash, head of the city's military administration, told Ukrainian national television.

"They have substantial reserves of personnel and equipment. Avdiivka is completely ablaze. They shoot, using everything they have. The hospital is again under fire, as are administrative buildings and our volunteer center."

Russia has focused its campaign along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front on the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia's representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, said the intensified battles in the east signified a new stage in its campaign.

"Russian troops have, for several days now, switched over to active combat action practically throughout the entire front line," Nebenzia told a session of the UN Security Council, Reuters reported.

"The so-called Ukrainian counteroffensive can therefore be considered finished."

Russian forces abandoned the western bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region late last year, but continue to shell towns there from positions on the eastern bank.



Trump Agrees to Fox News Offer of Debate with Harris on Sept. 4

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 31: Former President Donald Trump walks off stage at a campaign appearance on July 31, 2024 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 31: Former President Donald Trump walks off stage at a campaign appearance on July 31, 2024 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
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Trump Agrees to Fox News Offer of Debate with Harris on Sept. 4

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 31: Former President Donald Trump walks off stage at a campaign appearance on July 31, 2024 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 31: Former President Donald Trump walks off stage at a campaign appearance on July 31, 2024 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has agreed to an offer from Fox News to hold a debate with Democratic US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 4, he said in a post on Truth Social late on Friday.

"Rules will be similar to the rules of my debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his party, but with a full arena audience," Trump said, referring to President Joe Biden, who has since dropped his reelection bid.

According to Reuters, the post was removed for a few minutes before being reposted, with Trump deleting his proposal for a "major" town hall gathering on the same date if Harris was "unwilling or unable to debate".

Harris had responded last month that she was "ready" after Fox News proposed the presidential debate between the two candidates on Sept. 17.

After Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and backed Harris, Trump said he would not debate her because she was not the official candidate.

As proof of her lack of support, he added that former President Barack Obama had yet to endorse her. But Obama did so a day later, and on Friday, she secured the delegate votes needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.