The Russian army planned to launch the attack on Avdeevka on October 7, the birthday of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
For three days the Russian army has been trying to attack Ukrainian positions near Avdeevka, Donetsk region. The situation in the populated area itself is very tense, said the head of the military administration, Vitaly Barabash.
“They went up in all directions, there were a lot of them,” he said.
Why the invaders decided to pressurize the city and what is the situation there now, read the story Correspondent.net.
“everything is serious”
Vitaly Barabash said that the Russians, when shelling the city and the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, use cannon artillery, hail and mortars. In Avdeevka itself, the enemy is mostly trying to hit high-rise buildings.
Due to the tense situation and continuous shelling in the village, it is not possible to conduct rescue operations. Mass evacuation was also impossible, although 1,622 people still remain in Avdiivka.
In this regard, TrO fighter and former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Yegor Firsov said that he observed a large-scale accumulation of Russian troops near Avdievka, including moving in columns, which is now rare, as well as deploying of two heavy Sontsepek multiple. rocket launcher flamethrower system simultaneously.
“I’ve been at the front for a year and a half – I’ve never seen two Solntsepeks at once,” he said.
According to Firsov, the Russians began to attack the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in small groups of six to eight people, but there were many such groups. Also, during the attack on Avdeevka, the enemy uses all possible weapons, “starting with small artillery, ending with a massive air attack on Avdeevka and all suburb areas – Ocheretino, Krasnogorovka and others.”
“All this indicates not a single attack, an attempt at a local attack, some kind of provocation, but the enemy will try to do everything to put pressure on Avdiivka. Avdiivka is now is a strategic city for them. Because of Donetsk they can not feel calm. The entire perimeter of the city of Donetsk is fired by our way from Avdeevka or the suburb of Avdeevka. In addition, when we attack Donetsk, the gate in Donetsk is definitely the Avdeevka gate. All these factors indicate that everything is serious,” explained the military man.
Ukrainian city as a “gift”
Now several battalions of the Russian army are trying to attack Avdeevka, which gathered in Donetsk a week and a half before, said the reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pilot-instructor Roman Svitan.
According to him, the entire occupied city knows that on October 7 there will be a new attack on Avdiivka. Svitan claims that this is how the occupiers prepared a “gift” for dictator Vladimir Putin’s birthday.
“Russian journalists have arrived in Donetsk. There are many Telegram bloggers and journalists from “TV channels”. They are preparing to organize a demonstrative offensive action somewhere between Thursday and Friday. Something went wrong . Someone did not come. out of the binge, or they could not get together,” suggested a military expert in an interview with Radio NV.
Finally, the invaders’ offensive began on October 10.
“They went to Donetsk – to Yasinovataya, to Makeevka. The batteries arrived. And from the compact residential areas, residential areas, they started working around Avdeevka, in the Avdeevka garrison, around 05:00 morning (October 10 – ed. ). Naturally, our fighters, knowing all this, hid. In the area of Avdeevka, we hold this line for the 10th year,” said Svitan.
After that, Russian propagandists waited to “film the attacks of Ukrainian troops on residential areas,” but they did not.
“And then a really serious offensive began in the semicircle – from Vodyanoy to Krasnogorovka. That is, they decided to take it to the semicircle. In fact, (they marched – ed.) in ranks of hundreds of people, attack company. The total number – somewhere around several battalions are involved. There are places “up to fifty tanks, more than several hundred armored fighting vehicles. Half (at least) stayed there,” the expert described the situation.
What are the Russians doing?
The fact that Russia is putting pressure on Avdeevka because it wants some kind of “signature victory” was confirmed by the spokesman of the United Press Center of the Tauride Defense Forces, Alexander Shtupun.
“If at the time of the start of a full-scale offensive the enemy considers Avdievka as something of little importance, then now the capture or siege of Avdievka is more than anything he can achieve at this stage,” he said on the telethon.
At the same time, experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that the effort of the Russian army near Avdievka is unlikely to lead to wider operational and strategic success.
They say the city is a heavily fortified and defended Ukrainian stronghold, which will likely make it difficult for Russian forces to close or completely capture the town.
“In addition, Russian troops already control sections of the critical highway N20 Donetsk – Konstantinovka – Kramatorsk – Slavyansk and other roads passing near Avdievka, so the hypothetical capture of Avdiivka will not open new routes for in an attack on the rest of the Donetsk region, ” experts added.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.