During five years as a romance scammer, Christopher, now 24, posed as an American army man to prowl social media platforms and dating sites in search of his next victim, and successfully tricked up to 50 women into sending a total of £55,400.

Speaking to Money Mail, the self-confessed reformed scammer reveals the deceptive and cruel tricks he used to seduce women across the English-speaking world from the UK to the US, Canada and Australia.

Christopher, who is using a pseudonym and now works as a consultant at fraud-busting group Social Catfish, started scamming in 2016 as a way of making easy money during his second year of university in Nigeria.

‘I had no money and my family was broke so I had to do something. I chose to go into scamming,’ he says.

‘I know people might not understand, but I’m a professional and it was my full-time job. It took months to get to that level, like training on the job,’ he says. ‘I scammed every day of my life at the time.’

Christopher says he used a 40-page bible for scammers in Nigeria entitled How To Make A White Woman Fall In Love With You From Online Chat.

The book, which has been shown to Money Mail by SocialCatfish, offers a step-by-step guide for romance scammers with scripts of romantic phrases, conversation starters and questions that it promises will make vulnerable people ‘fall head over heels in love with you’.

It says the types of women who are ‘easier to get’ and who will ‘fall in love with you ASAP without much stress’ are those over the age of 40.

It says: ‘They are working hence they have the money you need. Also, being single at 40, they are eager for love.’

Once the target is identified, the playbook instructs scammers to do their research before chatting up their ‘client’.

‘You will want to find out everything you can before chatting [to] her as this will help later on. Check her [social media] bio for information.

‘It can be her hobbies, her pets, job, passion, if she has kids, where she lives, what she loves etc.

‘You can take a pen and paper and list them [next] to her name. This is something I like doing.’

For the opening message, it recommends complimenting women on their activities or what they enjoy and asking a question relating to it. It says: ‘You want to go gentle and different. Do not send a “hi...” There are many people that have sent her hi before. You want to send something that will make her like you from the very first text. Something that will make her open your message and her heart for you.

‘For example, if on her Facebook profile she has pictures of her dogs you can use a line like: “Hi, I just spent the last 10 minutes debating if those cute dogs beside you are mountain shepherds or Belgian Malinois. Please help me here ...they are super cute btw”.’

Another suggestion is: ‘You always have the best music in your stories! I’d love to swap playlists.’

Once the conversation is flowing, the book says to ‘make it about her’. It says: ‘Oyinbo women [a Nigerian term for Western women] like talking about themselves. They will think you care and will fall in love.’

Next, it instructs the criminals to compliment women using one of 60 suggested phrases, such as: ‘I can’t believe I found someone like you’ and ‘Your mind is just as sexy as your beauty’.

Women are more susceptible to messages at night, it claims: ‘Get to know her time zone and text her around 10pm. Night is when you can easily get her to fall for you. You will have her full attention, and if the chat goes well, she will sleep thinking about you.’

Scammers are told to take their time in asking for money to build trust first. It says: ‘Spend days talking about random things. It can be time-consuming, but it’s totally worth it.’

When it comes to asking for money, it instructs to ‘ask without looking like you are asking’ for example: ‘When she asks about your day you can tell her it was bad then tell her you are broke, you are behind your mortgage and they will kick you out next week and you have exhausted every means to get money.

‘By herself, she will offer to give you money. If you want a new phone you can tell her your phone is bad and you won’t be able to chat anymore.’

These tricks have been widely used by romance scammers, including Christopher himself. But did he feel guilty for tricking lonely women? ‘No, I did feel bad at the start, but at some point I stopped,’ he says. ‘I was making good money. I never felt for these people and didn’t let any emotion kick in.’

Christopher says he was arrested in Nigeria but never charged over his romance scams.

He adds that he used social media platforms Facebook and Instagram to contact women as well as dating websites. He primarily targeted women in their 50s and 60s who appeared to be recently divorced or widowed.

‘I can take advantage of that. The dating apps make it easy because you can set your interest on your profile to a particular age and it brings up people of that age group,’ he says.

His profile showed pictures of a man he had found online who was in the army and he told women he was American and had been deployed to either Afghanistan, Israel or Korea.

Christopher says he had no prescribed opening line, but said what came to mind when looking at that woman’s profile to personalise the message. At any one time, he would be in one or two relationships, speaking to women round the clock – from his lecture halls to the middle of the night to make up for time difference.

He would wait until he had gained their trust before asking for money. He says: ‘It would depend on the victim how long I waited to ask for money. I have gotten money in three days before but sometimes it takes months. I would make sure to message every single day.

‘One time I met this woman who had a boyfriend but she broke up with him because of me and was giving me $400 within a few days. I said I cared about her and I would do everything for her. She was 35 and white, working at a communications company. She gave me $400 (£317). We talked for four months,’ he says.

The 24-year-old says he had a range of false excuses to ask for money, which included saying he needed money to take a flight and spend the rest of his life with the woman or to replace his uniform: ‘I started with small amounts and always said I would pay everything back.’

His biggest windfall came from a 61-year-old American woman, he says, who sent him a total $30,000 (£23,700) during their one-year relationship. However, she used Social Catfish, a company that verifies online identities using reverse image searches, and was able to track Christopher down.

When he was confronted by the woman whose life he ruined, he says he felt terrible and is happy he no longer has to scam to make a living.

The National Crime Agency says that the majority of romance scams originate from fraudsters in West Africa – Nigeria and Ghana, in particular.

Christopher says he was open with his girlfriends and explained why he was messaging women day and night. ‘There’s a lot of poverty so a lot of people go into it here – they are used to it so it was never a problem.’

Christopher reveals that the biggest tell that you’re speaking to a scammer is if they won’t show their face via video call.

‘Avoid anyone who says they cannot meet because they are in the military or live overseas,’ he says. If they confess love too quickly and demand the same in return, it is a scam.

Daily Mail

A professional organizer shares her decluttering secrets.

Decluttering your home is a notoriously difficult task. What makes it so hard is that decluttering isn't just about stuff—it's also about emotional baggage and unfinished business. Regardless of our desire to simplify our homes and lives, our attachment to objects can make it difficult (or near-impossible) to let them go.

We tend to ask ourselves the wrong questions when deciding what to keep and get rid of: "Could this be useful one day? Did someone give this to me? Did I pay a lot of money for this item?" Instead, Shira Gill, a professional organizer known for her transformative closet makeovers, asks us to think differently. "These questions are rooted in guilt, obligation, and fear," she says, "and will provide you with the justification to keep just about anything!"

If you find yourself struggling to let go of clutter, it could be that you're just asking the wrong questions, Gill explains. Ready to kick your clutter to the curb? Gill recommends asking yourself the five questions below.

Would I buy this item for full price today?

When sorting through your stuff, this is a great first question. If you wouldn't choose to pay money to bring this item into your home today, then it's time to let it go. Plain and simple.

Would it impact my daily life not to have this item?

Were talking to you, bulky camping gear, inherited sets of dishware, and endless rolls of gift wrap. Think about your current goals and lifestyle, and be real about which items support and enhance your life, and which items just get in the way. Keep any items that are essential to your daily life or that you reach for regularly, and be a little more critical when it comes to those items you only use once per year. If you're holding onto a pair of ice skates but only go to the rink once every few years, it may be better to let go of them and rent skates next time.

Is this item really worth the space it's taking up in my home?

Sure, it might be fun to host a waffle-making party one day, but if you're short on storage space, ask yourself if that bulky waffle iron (or ice cream maker or ping pong table, etc.) is actually worth the real estate it takes up in your home the other 364 days of the year. If these items are creating clutter without adding value to your life, it's time to pass them on.

Do I own a similar item that I like better?

Consider volume when deciding whether to keep or donate an item. Most people have far more than they actually use and can benefit from practicing restraint. If you have eight wine openers, pick the best one and donate the rest. If you have 15 black T-shirts, decide how many you actually need, and then select your favorites from the pile. The same goes for spatulas, umbrellas, and even hairbrushes.

Could this item be useful/helpful to another person?

This question is especially helpful for considering items that were expensive or gifted to you but that you just don't use. If you know the item in question will just gather dust for the next five years, give it to someone who could truly use it. It always feels great to practice generosity, and donating to others can help you swiftly streamline your home. It's a win-win.

Keeping these questions in mind as you declutter your home will help keep you focused on creating a space that supports your life. After you ask these five questions, you'll only be left with things that are truly meaningful and functional.

Real Simple

As the rising cost of living continues to bite, many in northern Nigeria are turning to rice grains that millers normally reject after processing or sell to farmers to feed their fish.

These are referred to in the Hausa language, widely spoken in the north, as afafata, which means "battling" because they are literally a battle to cook and eat as the grains are so hard.

"A few years ago, people didn't care about this type of rice, and we usually threw it away along with the rice hulls, but times have changed," Isah Hamisu, a rice mill worker in the northern city of Kano, told the BBC.

Despite the grains being broken, dirty and tough, afafata's cheaper price has made it more attractive for humans and helped poorer families to be able to afford to eat one of the staple foods in the country.

Fish farm owner Fatima Abdullahi said her fish love it but because people are now eating afafata, its price has risen.

Prices in Nigeria are increasing at their fastest rate for nearly 30 years. On top of global pressures, President Bola Tinubu's cancellation of the fuel subsidy plus the devaluation of the currency, the naira, have added to inflation.

A standard 50kg (110lb) bag of rice, which could help feed a household of between eight and 10 for about a month, now costs 77,000 naira ($53; £41). This is an increase of more than 70% since the middle of last year and exceeds the monthly income of a majority of Nigerians.

In the face of this many are struggling to cope and in some states there have been cost-of-living protests.

Earlier this month in Niger state, central Nigeria, protesters blocked roads and held placards saying that they were being suffocated by the rising prices.

A few days later there was a similar demonstration in Kano in the north-west. In the aftermath, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf admitted there was starvation in his state and said a solution must be found.

The solution, for now, for some is found in afafata.

Hajiya Rabi Isah, based in Kano state, told the BBC that if it were not for this type of rice her children would go hungry as she cannot afford the normal kind.

"Normal rice is 4,000 naira ($2.70) per bowl which is beyond my means, I can only afford afafata which is 2,500 naira ($1.69) now," she said. One bowl of rice from the market can feed an average family in Kano for a day.

"Without afafata, feeding my family would be a major issue for me."

Market sellers have also noticed a difference.

Saminu Uba, who works in Kano's Medile market, said the afafata side of his business is booming.

"Most people can no longer afford normal rice and they come for this which is cheaper even though it tastes less good," he told the BBC.

One of his customers, Hashimu Dahiru, admits people are having to find ways of adapting.

"The cost of goods is alarming - in just two months the price of everything has doubled,'' he said.

"Our wives spend hours removing stones and dirt from the rice before cooking and even then it ends up tasting not nice, but we have to eat to survive."

The presidency has said it is doing all it can about the situation, including the distribution of more than 100 tonnes of grains such as rice, millet and maize in the hope that it would cushion the effects of inflation and help lower the market price.

But the president's aide Bayo Onanuga upset many recently when he said that Nigeria still had one of the lowest costs of living in Africa.

The increasing price of rice is not a new problem though.

Tinubu's predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, banned the importation of rice to encourage more Nigerian farmers to grow the crop, but local producers have been unable to meet the demand.

Before then Nigerian markets were filled with rice from Thailand at an affordable price for many.

Tinubu has lifted import restrictions, but now the shortage of foreign currency and the falling value of the naira has made bringing in rice trickier.

BBC

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, rose to 29.9 percent in January 2024 — up from 28.92 percent in the previous month.

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its CPI report for January, released on Thursday.

According to the bureau, food inflation also surged to 35.4 percent in the month under review.

The bureau said the January 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of “0.98% points when compared to the December 2023 headline inflation rate”.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82%,” the report reads.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in January 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., January 2023).

“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 2.64%, which was 0.35% higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.29%).”

According to the NBS, this means that in January 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in December 2023.

FOOD INFLATION RATE ROSE TO 35.4 PERCENT

The NBS report also said the food inflation rate in January 2024 was 35.41 percent on a year-on-year basis — 11.1 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023 (24.32 percent).

According to the bureau, the rise in food inflation was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, and fruit.

“On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in January 2024 was 3.21%, this was 0.49% higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.72%),” the report said.

“The rise in the Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis was caused by a rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers, Bread and Cereals, Fish, Meat, Tobacco, and Vegetable.

“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending January 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 28.91%, which was a 7.38% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in January 2023(21.53%).

The report also said Kogi, Kwara, and Rivers states spent more on food in January.

“In January 2024, Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Kogi (44.18%), Kwara (40.87%), and Rivers (40.08%),” the NBS said.

On the other hand, Bauchi (28.83 percent), Adamawa (29.80 percent), and Kano (30.08 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on year-on-year basis.

The Cable

Mohammed Idris, minister of information, says the federal government may adopt state police to check the rising insecurity in the country.

Idris spoke on Thursday, after a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the state governors, at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Addressing the press alongside Caleb Mutfwang, governor of Plateau; Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna; and Sheriff Oborevwori, Delta governor; Idris said the president and governors have agreed on working out modalities for the concept.

The minister added that a series of meetings would take place to determine the workability of a decentralised police force.

He also said a committee has been set up to synthesise all that was discussed at the meeting.

RECURRING CONVERSATION

For decades, the idea of state policing in Nigeria has elicited mixed reactions from leaders and experts.

Nigeria runs a unitary, centralised police force with exclusive jurisdiction across the country — which is headed by an inspector-general of police (IGP).

State police would mean police units that are controlled by state governments and whose jurisdictions do not exceed state boundaries.

During his tenure, former President Muhammadu Buhari ruled out the state police option as solution to the country’s endemic security challenges.

Buhari said Nigerians should question why governors, who are at the forefront of the clamour for state police, have not given powers to local governments.

The former president said Nigeria can revert to the traditional rulers for recommendations, and approved N13.3 billion for the commencement of community policing instead.

However, Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, said Nigeria needs state police to tackle insecurity.

Sani who has also been at the forefront of the clamour for the creation of state police, had said the country’s security challenges would not be solved without a decentralised police force.

The Cable

Central Bank of Nigeria has set a limit on foreign currency transfers from crude export proceeds by international oil companies to their parent firms, in its latest measure to improve dollar supply in the local currency market.

In a circular dated Feb. 14, the CBN said banks could in the first instance transfer a maximum of 50% of crude export proceeds to oil companies abroad.

They could then transfer the balance after 90 days of the deposit of the proceeds.

However, because international companies lend and borrow between themselves in a process known as "cash pooling", analysts expect the impact of the new rule to be marginal.

Africa's largest economy has been experiencing crippling dollar shortages that has pushed its currency to record lows, although central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso has said that dollar liquidity was improving.

The latest move is part of a series of central bank reforms aimed at boosting dollar liquidity which dried up in the aftermath of a previously low oil price in 2016 and then disruptions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, the naira fell to a record low of 1,606 to the dollar after the circular was made public. It later recovered to close at 1,476 naira, around the level on the unofficial parallel market.

The central bank said it wanted to ensure that foreign transfers are done with minimal impact on liquidity in the currency market while supporting oil firms to have easy access to their crude proceeds.

Cardoso has said the currency will adjust once rules for market participants are made clear.

Last week, the central bank hiked open market rates to draw investors to bills as inflation climbed to a nearly three-decade high and lagged behind the benchmark policy rate.

The bank has also scrapped caps on forex spreads on the interbank market.

Reuters

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will no longer allow cash for Business Travel Allowance (BTA) and Personal Travel Allowance (PTA).

All such allowances are to be issued in cards, the bank has announced.

It said that the new measure was part of efforts towards making such that only genuine travellers obtained BTA and PTA, going forward.

Vanguard

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has adjusted the foreign exchange rate for its tariffs and duties to N1,515 to a dollar.

The new rates were reflected on the single window trade portal of the federal government.

According to information on the portal, the NCS exchange rate has gone up by 59.15 percent or N563.15 to N1,515.09/$, as of Thursday — from the N951.94/$ it started February with.

On February 2, 2024, Customs had adjusted the exchange rate for calculating import duties from N951.941/$ to N1,356.883/$ — on February 3, it was raised to N1, 413.62/$.

Also, on February 10, 2024, the rate was increased to N1,417.635/$; on February 12, it was reviewed to N1, 444.56/$; and on February 14, the rate was raised to N1, 481.482/$.

According to the data, the latest adjustment is the sixth in February.

The import duties are being set according to the value of the dollar.

Checks by TheCable showed the average rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aligned with the duty rate displayed on the customs’ trade portal at the time of filing this report.

Customs had on February 4, 2024, said its exchange rates for cargo clearing are based on the recommendation of the CBN.

NCS said it does not engage in arbitrary increases or decreases in exchange rates.

Meanwhile, with the latest adjustment, importers and manufacturers who rely on the country’s seaport to bring in essential production materials will be required to pay a higher amount to facilitate clearance of their goods by customs.

The Cable

Israeli forces storm the main hospital in southern Gaza, saying hostages were likely held there

Israeli forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex. The Israeli army said it was seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas.

The raid on Nasser Hospital came after troops had besieged the facility for nearly a week, with hundreds of staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. A day earlier, the army ordered thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter there to leave the hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the focus of Israel’s offensive against Hamas in recent weeks.

The war shows no sign of ending, and the risk of a broader conflict grew as Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group stepped up attacks after a particularly deadly exchange on Wednesday.

The military said it had “credible intelligence” that Hamas had held hostages at Nasser Hospital and that the hostages’ remains might still be inside. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a “precise and limited” operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian structures to shield its fighters.

A released hostage told The Associated Press last month that she and over two dozen other captives had been held in Nasser Hospital. International law prohibits the targeting of medical facilities; they can lose those protections if they are used for military purposes, though operations against them still must be proportional to any threat.

As troops searched hospital buildings, they ordered the more than 460 staff, patients and their relatives to move into an older building in the compound that isn’t equipped to treat patients, the Gaza Health Ministry said. They were “in harsh conditions with no food or baby formula” and severe water shortages, it said.

Six patients were left in intensive care, along with three infants in incubators with no staff to attend to them. The ministry said fuel for generators would soon run out, endangering their lives.

Separately, Israel launched airstrikes into southern Lebanon for a second day after killing 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday in response to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others.

It was the deadliest exchange of fire along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel and Hezbollah — an ally of Hamas — have traded fire on a daily basis, raising the risks of a broader conflict.

Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s rocket attack. Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a senior member of the group, said it is “prepared for the possibility of expanding the war” and would meet “escalation with escalation, displacement with displacement, and destruction with destruction.”

Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the militants’ Oct. 7 attack are freed.

SCENES OF PANIC IN HOSPITAL

Nasser Hospital has been the latest focus of Israeli military operations that have gutted Gaza’s health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments.

Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded the hospital for at least a week, and fire from outside has recently killed several people inside, according to health officials.

“There’s no water, no food. Garbage is everywhere. Sewage has flooded the emergency ward,” said Raed Abed, a wounded patient who was among those who left Nasser Hospital on Israeli orders Wednesday.

Still suffering from a severe stomach wound, Abed said he initially collapsed as he got out of his hospital bed and tried to leave. He then waited outside for hours as troops made those leaving pass by five at a time, arresting some and making them strip to their underwear, he said. Finally, he walked for miles until he reached the border town of Rafah, where he was put in a hospital. Lying in a bed there, he wheezed in pain from his wound as he spoke.

Overnight, a strike slammed into one of Nasser Hospital’s wards, killing one patient and wounding six others, Dr. Khaled Alserr, one of the remaining surgeons there, told the AP.

Video showed medics scrambling to move patients down a corridor filled with smoke or dust, while in a dark room a wounded man screamed in pain as gunfire echoed outside.

“The situation is escalating every hour and every minute,” Alserr said.

The international aid group Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French language acronym MSF, said its staff had to flee the hospital on Thursday, leaving patients behind, and that one staffer was detained at an Israeli checkpoint just outside the facility.

Hours after troops entered the hospital, military spokesman Hagari said they were still conducting searches. He said dozens of militants were arrested from the hospital grounds, including three who participated in the Oct. 7 attack. He also said troops found grenades and mortar shells, and that Israeli radar determined that militants fired mortars from the hospital grounds a month ago.

NO END IN SIGHT TO THE WAR

The war began when Hamas militants on Oct. 7 burst out of Gaza and attacked several Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. More than 100 captives were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Around 130 captives remain in Gaza, a fourth of whom are believed to be dead. Netanyahu has come under intense pressure from hostages’ families and the wider public to make a deal to secure their freedom, but his far-right coalition partners could bring down his government if he is seen as being too soft on Hamas. Dozens of hostages’ relatives protested and blocked traffic Thursday outside the military’s headquarters, where the War Cabinet also meets.

Israel responded to the Hamas attack with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.

At least 28,663 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Some 80% of the population has been driven from their homes, and a quarter are starving amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Large areas in northern Gaza, the first target of the offensive, have been completely destroyed.

Israeli media reported that CIA Director William Burns flew to Israel to meet with Netanyahu to discuss efforts for a cease-fire.

Hamas says it will not release all the remaining captives until Israel ends its offensive, withdraws and frees Palestinian prisoners, including top militants.

Netanyahu has rejected those demands and says Israel will soon expand its offensive into Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. Over half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has sought refuge in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere.

Airstrikes late Wednesday in central Gaza killed at least 11 people, including four children and five women, according to hospital records. Relatives gathered around bodies wrapped in white shrouds outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah before the remains were placed in a truck to be taken for burial.

One man struggled to let go, lying down and holding one of the bodies on the truck as he wept.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine withdraws units from parts of Avdiivka, sends in crack brigade

Ukraine said on Thursday it was withdrawing troops from some parts of the eastern town of Avdiivka to better positions after months of heavy fighting, and battle-hardened reserve fighters from a crack brigade have joined the battle.

Russia is trying to encircle and capture Avdiivka nearly two years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv's foothold in the town appears increasingly shaky, with its supply lines threatened.

Capturing Avdiivka is key to Russia's aim of securing full control of the two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region, and could hand President Vladimir Putin a battlefield victory to hold up to voters as he seeks re-election next month.

"In Avdiivka a manoeuvre is underway in some places to withdraw our units to more advantageous positions, in some places to force (the Russians) out of positions," Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said in televised comments.

"Therefore the key announcement with regards to all this is that supplies to Avdiivka and evacuations from there are difficult."

He said the military had activated a "reserve logistics artery" that had been prepared in advance.

"The situation on the front - Avdiivka, the east in general. We are doing everything possible to ensure that our soldiers have sufficient managerial and technological capabilities to preserve as many Ukrainian lives as possible," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

One of Ukraine's most prominent fighting units, the Third Assault Brigade, said it had been rushed to Avdiivka to reinforce Kyiv's troops there.

The brigade, which comprises assault infantry, said the situation in Avdiivkawas "hell" and "threatening and unstable", but that it had conducted a raid against Russian forces in parts of the town and inflicted heavy casualties.

Reuters could not independently verify the statements.

The brigade took part in a counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine last summer and fought in the battle of Bakhmut, another town in eastern Ukraine that held out for many months before being captured last May.

"The enemy is continuing the active rotation of its troops (around Avdiivka) and is deploying new forces and equipment to the town," the brigade said on the Telegram messenger.

"The situation at the moment the brigade was brought in was extremely critical."

The unit's deputy commander, Maksym Zhorin, said the fighting was much fiercer than the battle of Bakhmut and that Kyiv's forces were outnumbered and outgunned in Avdiivka.

UKRAINE FACES MILITARY CHALLENGES

Russian forces have been trying to advance on the town since October and have surrounded it on three sides, leaving limited resupply routes for the Ukrainian troops dug in there.

Lykhoviy said Russia had concentrated around 50,000 troops on the Avdiivka front, and fighting in the city involved Russian tactical assault groups that were small but growing in size.

"Armoured groups in the form of tanks and other armoured vehicles are joining them," he said.

Ukraine's war effort is facing big challenges and uncertainty over the future of U.S. military assistance.

Tired troops, some of whom have been fighting for almost two years and are deployed along a sprawling 1,000-km (620-mile) front, are facing critical shortages of artillery rounds.

Zelenskiy replaced his popular army chief last week and is set this week to visit France and Germany, where he is likely to seek support for urgent new military assistance.

Avdiivka, where fewer than 1,000 residents are left of a pre-war population of 32,000, lies just north of the Russian-held bastion of Donetsk which Ukraine lost control of in 2014 when Moscow's proxies began an uprising.

The town has a vast coking plant that has stopped functioning during the war.

Both sides see Avdiivka as key to Russia gaining full control of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and as a gateway to Donetsk city, residential areas of which have been shelled by Ukraine, sometimes from Avdiivka, Russian officials say.

** Three civilians killed in Russian airstrike on Kharkiv region - governor

A Russian airstrike killed at least three people and injured two more in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Thursday, local governor Oleh Sinehubov said.

Two bombs hit a car carrying civilians and set a residential building on fire, Sinehubov said. He posted several photographs of a badly damaged burning building and a wrecked car.

Reuters could not independently verify the report or images.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against its neighbour in February 2022.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces strike Ukrainian aircraft engine-, ammo-producing plants over past day

Russian forces delivered a combined strike against Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises rolling out aircraft engines and mortar ammunition over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"In the morning, the Russian Armed Forces delivered a combined strike by airborne and seaborne long-range precision weapons against Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises engaged in the production and repairs of aircraft engines, radio-electronic and communications equipment and mortar ammunition, and also against the factories producing fuel for the Ukrainian army’s military hardware. The goal of the strike was achieved. All the targets were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian forces destroy more than 100 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area over past day

Russian forces destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian troops, a multiple rocket launcher and two artillery guns in the Kupyansk area over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Kupyansk direction, units of the western battlegroup inflicted damage on enemy manpower and equipment in areas near the settlements of Berestovoye and Peschanoye in the Kharkov Region and Makeyevka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and repelled an attack by an assault group of the 30th mechanized brigade near the settlement of Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region. The Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to 105 personnel, three motor vehicles, a Grad multiple launch rocket system, a French-made Caesar self-propelled artillery system and a Gvozdika motorized artillery gun," the ministry said.

Ukraine’s army loses 305 troops in Krasny Liman area over past day

The Ukrainian military lost roughly 305 troops and 15 armored vehicles in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, the ministry reported.

Units of Russia’s battlegroup Center improved their forward edge positions and repulsed two attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 60th and 63rd mechanized brigades near the settlements of Yampolovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic in the Krasny Liman direction over the past 24 hours, the ministry specified.

"The enemy’s losses amounted to 305 personnel, 15 armored combat vehicles, including a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, 14 motor vehicles, a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery gun and a D-30 howitzer," the ministry said.

Russian forces repulse 10 Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces repulsed ten Ukrainian army attacks and kept improving their positions in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Donetsk direction, units of the southern battlegroup gained more advantageous frontiers and positions, repulsed 10 enemy attacks and inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 17th tank, 79th air assault, 72nd mechanized and 112th territorial defense brigades in areas near the settlements of Krasnoye, Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, Leninskoye, Konstantinovka and Paraskoviyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

Kiev suffers 360 casualties in Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Donetsk area, killing and wounding roughly 360 enemy troops and destroying a US-made Bradley combat vehicle over the past day, the ministry reported.

"The Ukrainian army lost as many as 360 troops, a tank, three armored combat vehicles, including a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, and also 27 motor vehicles. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, two US-made M777 artillery systems, an FH70 howitzer and an L119 howitzer of UK manufacture, a Msta-B howitzer, a D-30 howitzer and three D-20 howitzers," the ministry said.

Russian forces strike four Ukrainian army brigades in south Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces struck four Ukrainian army brigades in the south Donetsk area, eliminating roughly 200 enemy troops over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the south Donetsk direction, units of the battlegroup East inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 58th infantry, 72nd mechanized, 128th and 127th territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Vodyanoye, Vladimirovka and Urozhainoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Priyutnoye in the Zaporozhye Region. The Ukrainian army lost as many as 200 personnel, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles and eight motor vehicles," the ministry said.

In counter-battery fire, Russian forces destroyed a UK-made FH70 howitzer, two US-manufactured M198 howitzers and a Gvozdika motorized artillery system, the ministry specified.

Russian forces strike two Ukrainian army brigades in Kherson area over past day

Russian forces inflicted damage on two Ukrainian army brigades in the Kherson area, eliminating roughly 20 enemy troops and a US-made artillery system over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Kherson direction, Russian air strikes and artillery fire inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the [Ukrainian army’s] 35th marine infantry brigade and 126th territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Tyaginka, Ivanovka and Yantarnoye in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army’s losses in the Kherson direction over the last 24 hours amounted to 20 personnel, two motor vehicles, a US-made M777 artillery system and a D-30 howitzer, the ministry specified.

Russian air defenses down Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near Kramatorsk

Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 aircraft near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

Russian air defenses down 95 Ukrainian UAVs over past day

Russian air defense forces intercepted eight rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and an American JDAM smart bomb and destroyed 95 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Over the last 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted eight rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and a JDAM air guided bomb of US manufacture. In addition, they destroyed 95 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Zhitlovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Soledar, Volnovakha and Yelenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lyubimovka, Inzhenernoye, Pologi and Ocheretovatoye in the Zaporozhye Region and Velikiye Kopani in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

Russian forces strike Ukrainian troops in more than 100 areas over past day

Russian forces inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army’s personnel and military hardware in more than 100 areas over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of Russian groupings of forces struck a command post of the Ukrainian army’s 72nd mechanized brigade, and also manpower and military equipment in 102 areas," the ministry said.

In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 571 warplanes, 266 helicopters, 12,485 unmanned aerial vehicles, 469 surface-to-air missile systems, 15,056 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,221 multiple rocket launchers, 8,061 field artillery guns and mortars and 18,729 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.

Reuters/Tass