Russians ordered to conquer Avdiivka before Putin's annual phone-in show

Over a hundred family members of mobilised soldiers have written a letter to Putin claiming that soldiers were being thrown into the meat-grinder in Avdiivka in an attempt to capture the city before the dictator’s yearly Q&A with the public on 14 December. [Direct Line with Vladimir Putin is an annual televised event in which the president responds to Russian citizens’ questions live for several hours – ed.].