President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday praised Ukrainian forces for their "very effective" repelling of enemy assaults near Avdiivka, one of the focal points of fighting in the east.
"The Avdiivka sector is very effective in repelling assaults," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
The head of the military administration in Avdiivka, a mining town shattered by months of fighting, told national television that Ukrainian forces had advanced about one km (two-thirds of a mile) around the town over the past two weeks.
In his remarks, Zelensky also said the Tavria, or southern front, was "the most brutal" and expressed gratitude to soldiers fighting there and elsewhere. Ukrainian military officials have noted progress in advances of troops on the southern front.