Ukraine war: Avdiivka civilians cling on amid Russian assault

As Russian missiles shatter the town of Avdiivka, Hanna is desperate to escape. But her elderly mother refuses to leave.

“I can’t leave her,” Hanna tells us over the phone. “She said she wanted to sleep in her own bed. She’s 71 and has problems with her legs. If she stays alone, she can’t get water or wood for heating.”

Holed up precariously in a fifth floor flat, living under near constant bombardment and air strikes, they’re among the last remaining residents of Avdiivka.

This strategically important and fiercely contested town lies right on the front line in eastern Ukraine.