Ukraine troops face 'difficult defence' in east as bitter cold sets in - Zelenskiy

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a hospital heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Selydove, Donetsk region, Ukraine November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo

(Reuters) - Ukrainian troops face "difficult" defensive operations on parts of the eastern front with bitter winter cold setting in, but forces in the south are still conducting offensive actions, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday.

Russian troops launched offensives on different sections of the front line in Ukraine's east this autumn, trying to advance on the devastated town of Avdiivka and in the northeast between the towns of Lyman and Kupiansk.