Large numbers of Russian forces are pushing to capture the frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka from multiple sides, its Ukrainian mayor said Thursday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub.

"Unfortunately, the enemy is pressing from all directions, there is not a single part of our city that is more or less calm. Indeed, they are storming with very large forces," the mayor of the town, Vitaly Barabash, told state media.