Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday his government was not prepared to “review its goals” in Ukraine — delivering a blunt and confrontational message to Western leaders on a rare trip

The latest major flashpoint is the eastern town of Avdiivka, which Russian forces are attempting to encircle.Moscow’s claim of progress came hours after Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian defences must quickly be beefed up across the front line.

Russia said on Friday its troops were advancing in every section of the Ukrainian front, despite observers seeing little movement.The front lines have barely shifted in 2023 but fighting has remained intense.

Avdiivka, a former coal hub in the eastern Donetsk region, has become a symbol of a grinding war in which neither Ukraine nor Russia has made a decisive breakthrough in more than a year. Around 1,350 people still live amongst its destroyed buildings and ruined apartment blocks,