Russian troops resumed offensive operations near Avdiivka in the Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine on Friday despite heavy losses in people and equipment, says the American Institute for War Studies (ISW) in its latest analysis. In recent days, the Ukrainian side has reported record high Russian losses in this region, including: over 200 tanks and other armored vehicles.
General Staff of the Armed Forces Ukraine reported on Friday that in the last 24 hours alone, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged almost 50 Russian tanks and over 100 armored vehicles near Avdiivka. These are the highest reported Russian daily losses since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
According to the Ukrainian side, a total of 200 Russian armored vehicles were destroyed over the last four days. Despite the involvement of significant forces in offensive operation around Avdiivka launched on October 10 However, the Russians have not been successful so far. Despite this, “Russian troops are not abandoning their attempts to encircle Avdiivka,” admitted the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Zaluzhny, on Thursday.
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AvdiivkaReuters
ISW: The Russians continue their attack near Avdiivka
“Russian forces began renewed offensive operations near Avdiivka on October 20 and have advanced slightly, which indicates that the Russian military command is still engaged in offensive operations in this area despite heavy losses in equipment and personnel,” the Institute writes in its latest report. Studies on War.
ISW indicates that the Russian army has made little progress near the town of Krasnohorivka, 5 km north of Avdiivka.
Fights in Avdiivka Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu/PAP/Abaca
A Russian military blogger, quoted by ISW, assessed that the effectiveness of Russian troops near Avdiivka is decreasing due to poor communication and ammunition shortages, “which most likely deepens the material losses in this area” on the aggressor’s side.
ISW notes that the previous attack on October 10 also resulted in heavy losses on the Russian side. The fact that the Russian army regrouped and attacked Avdiivka again may indicate either that Russian troops believe they can capture the city or that the Russian command is wrongly prioritizing offensive operations, disregarding the losses, the report says.
Main photo source: Volodymyr Zelensky/Facebook