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What did Avdiivka's defenders face on 13 October 2023?
Summary
A look back at a day of heavy fighting in Donetsk Oblast, and a deadly drone incident in Belgorod Oblast the day before.
What was happening around Avdiivka on 13 October 2023? Heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces, with both sides contesting control of the city in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukraine said Russia had launched airstrikes and artillery attacks on the city overnight. Ukrainian officials said their troops were "holding their ground". The Battle of Avdiivka was, by that date, a struggle for a single contested city, and the reports from 13 October 2023 describe a defence under sustained fire.
The day before
On 12 October 2023, events were also reported across the border. Three people were killed and two others injured in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, after debris from a downed Ukrainian drone hit several houses.
Taken together, the two reports show the war as it stood in those days: intense ground and air combat in Donetsk Oblast, and civilian casualties in a Russian border region from debris of a downed drone.
