What is happening in the Avdiivka direction? Russians' activity decreases or not? What Ukrainain officials and communities say?
The activity of Russian troops near Avdiivka has somewhat decreased, although the enemy continues to "move forward," Colonel Oleksandr Stupun assured, spokesman for the joint press center of the Tauride Defense Forces.
Stupun's direct speech: "The enemy you can tell by the losses, its activity has somewhat decreased, but it continues to move forward."
According to Stupun, Russia launched 1 missile and 24 air strikes in the Tauride direction, most of them were in the Avdiivka sector.
Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War emphasizes that Russian troops resumed their offensive in the area of Avdiivka and made little progress.
Today, Defense Express military analyst Ivan Kyrychevskyi told Radio Svoboda why Avdiivka is important for the russian Federation and whether a repeat of the situation with Bakhmut is possible in the city.
Currently, a huge group of russian occupiers, which includes 40 thousand soldiers, has gathered near the city. According to Kyrychevsky, this is too much for such a city. That is, the density of the russian military there is even higher than near Bakhmut.
"I strongly suspect that if you take the mileage of the front, then perhaps the density is even higher than near Bakhmut. The following math is possible here: if according to our official, confirmed data, the Russians in three weeks of fighting there (in the Avdiiv direction - ed.) lost 6.5 thousand of these "troops", then the Russians can think that they have losses at the level of only 10% of the total grouping of troops. Accordingly, until there is at least a third or a half (level of losses - ed.), they can continue assaults with the same effectiveness as now. This is what this may indicate," the expert explained.
The American Institute for the Study of War warns that the Russian army of occupation has crossed the railway line near Stepovoy and is probably preparing to attack the Avdiyiv coke plant in the north of Avdiivka.
Corresponding information is also confirmed by the head of the Avdiivka Military Regional Administration, Vitaliy Barabash. According to him, the Russian troops are planning to capture the Avdiivka coke plant and this is their new goal against the background of the lack of success at the front.
Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Tavrian group of troops, said that Russian troops attack mainly in small groups of infantry. According to him, the pace of Russian military operations near Avdiivka is decreasing because the Russian forces are regrouping and need reinforcements.
To this end, military observer and editor-in-cheif of CENSOR.NET Yuriy Butusov believes that the battles for the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk region are tactically different from the defense of the temporarily lost Ukrainian cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Soledar and Bakhmut. He suggests that a "trap for the Russians" may arise here.
Tags: war zone
