Day 630 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Russia will Pay a High Price for Avdiivka says Zelensky

Day 630 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Ukraine holds positions south of the Dnieper, Kyiv and Moscow have confirmed
• Zelensky: Russia will pay a high price for Avdiivka
• Zelensky's chief of staff: The next year is decisive in the war
• The mayor of Kyiv fears that the war in Gaza will divert attention from Ukraine

Ukraine holds positions south of the Dnieper, Kyiv and Moscow have confirmed

In the past 24 hours, Russian and Ukrainian officials have confirmed for the first time that Kyiv's forces have managed to take positions on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine.

It comes weeks after reports of a Ukrainian breakthrough were followed by mixed reports of successes in Russian-controlled areas of Kherson region since it invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year.

Russia has been holding the left bank of the Dnieper for a year now, after withdrawing from the right bank. Ukraine's breakthrough was reported, as of last month, only unofficially.

There has been no confirmed information about the fighting in the area so far; disputed village of Krynky, which Kyiv can use as a bridgehead, according to some media is subject to fighting, according to others under Ukrainian control.

In yesterday's announcement from the participation of the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Andriy Yermak at the Hudson Institute in Washington, the words appear that, contrary to all expectations: "The Ukrainian Defense Forces have acquired a bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper. Step by step they are demilitarizing Crimea. We have...