2023-12-23 13:00:00
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The Russian army is said to be planning the final capture of Avdiivka. But the Ukrainian defenders in Donbass are well aware of the tactics of Moscow’s troops.
Avdiivka – Russian losses in Ukraine are manifested in just one name: Avdiivka. According to Ukrainian and Western estimates, Russia is said to have lost 18,000 to 20,000 soldiers to death or injuries within just a few weeks in the small town in Donbass.
Ukraine War: Russian army is reportedly preparing final attack on Avdiivka
In addition, Moscow is said to have lost an estimated 250 armored vehicles and tanks on this eastern section of the front since mid-October – just on this section. Nevertheless, the noose of Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin’s troops, which not only Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has decisively warned about before Christmas, is slowly tightening around the Ukrainian defenders in Avdiivka.
According to Ukrainian information, Putin’s invading army is determined to take over the bombed-out industrial city with a former population of 32,000 using a three-axis strategy. The strategic importance of Avdiivka in the Ukraine war is controversial. “The enemy is now trying to break through at certain points,” Vitaliy Barabash explained to the Kyiv Post: “You have, relatively speaking, three (axes, i.e. Red.) prioritize and send mainly equipment and a large number of infantry there.”
The 47th mechanized brigade of Ukraine is currently still holding large parts of the city, not least with the use of the American Bradleys supplied – Kiev recently shared a much-noticed video of one of the armored personnel carriers from Avdiivka. Another video currently circulating on
Avdiivka in Ukraine: Moscow sent tens of thousands of Russian soldiers
When the Russian General Staff sent tens of thousands of soldiers there in the fall (and many of them to their deaths), Western observers still assumed that those very tracks were strategically important. There hasn’t been a train here for a long time, and Avdiivka has been contested since pro-Russian separatists rebelled against Kiev in the Donbass in the summer of 2014 and later regular Russian troops invaded the east of the battered country in violation of international law. This also applies to northern sections of the disused railway line.
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Avdiivka is a small town with a population of 32,000 in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. The former industrial city is located almost 15 kilometers north of the city center of the large city of Donetsk (around 900,000 inhabitants). It was known for its coking plant for producing coke and raw gas from coal. In March 2023, Avdiivka was largely destroyed by Russian attacks after it had been the site of military conflict in Donbass since 2014 – again in the winter of 2023.
Barabash is the head of the city’s military administration. “It’s really difficult. “It’s really, really hot,” he said Kyiv Post continued: “Recently people often ask if it has become easier – that is not the case. The enemy will try to achieve his goal of taking the city.” The situation around Avdiivka is difficult, but the Ukrainian defenders will continue to hold the Russians back, said Barabash. This does not exclusively correspond to the statements of all soldiers, while a former Wagner mercenary apparently wants to testify about Russian war crimes in Donbass in The Hague.
After Russian attacks: Ukrainian soldiers from Avdiivka describe exhaustion
“They attack all the time. We are losing a lot of soldiers. You no longer have the strength to fight them. “They are shooting at us with artillery and drones,” said a wounded Ukrainian soldier ZDF remarkably open during his treatment behind the front lines.
Avdiivka, meanwhile, is apparently becoming Putin’s mass grave, lined with the bodies of (often young) men whose futures were robbed – on both sides. The General Staff in Kiev reassured and declared on Thursday (December 21): “Our soldiers are holding the defense and inflicting significant losses on the occupiers. The Defense Forces repelled 22 enemy attacks east of Novokalynove, Novobakhmutivka and Avdiivka.”
Meanwhile, there are increasing reports that the Ukrainians are resorting to brutal tactics at Avdiivka after severe setbacks in recent months. “Our goal is to have the kill ratio as positive as possible,” an unnamed officer said loudly Bild: “If it’s 10 to 1 in our favor, we’ll continue, if it’s 1 to 1, we’ll withdraw.” So it’s about killed soldiers.
Avdiivka in Donbass: Russian army needs victory for the state media
Sea ZDF On the other hand, if the Russians took the city, it would be about one thing: the state media would sell the occupation of Avdiivka at home as a strategic victory, while this far exceeds the strategic benefit. But the Russian soldiers experience a different, truly brutal reality far from home. (pm)
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