(Reuters) - Russian shelling in northern Ukraine killed four people in two villages in Sumy region near the Russian border, while a woman died in a fresh assault on the devastated eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, local officials said. The local administration in Sumy region said three people died in mortar fire in the village of Znov-Novohorodske. Reuters could not verify the reports, but officials in Sumy region report daily attacks from Russian forces. It has remained in Ukrainian hands in Russia's slow drive through eastern Ukraine despite fierce onslaughts since mid-October. The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in its evening report said Ukrainian forces had repelled 13 Russian attacks in and around Avdiivka in the past 24 hours.

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Persons: Suspilne, Avdiivka, Natalia Humeniuk, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, General, Military Locations: Ukraine, Sumy, Russian, Avdiivka, Znov, Ukrainian, Dnipro, Russia, Kherson