Putin’s troops have surrounded the city on the front line: the Russians are apparently about to take Avdiivka

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The Ukrainian frontline fighters held out against the Russians in Avdiivka for a long time. For four months, one wave of Russian attacks after another collapsed on Ukrainian positions. Now the tide has turned.

The small town is almost completely surrounded by the Russians. According to war bloggers, the Russian army reportedly asked the remaining Ukrainian units to surrender.

The city could be the war success that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin (71) envisioned for the Russian presidential elections in March. Avdiivka is of little strategic importance.

This unit is designed to inflict casualties on Russians

The maps of the Ukrainian analysis platform ‘Deepstate’ show that the Russians have cut off the main supply route of the Ukrainians. The remaining defenders can only be supplied with supplies via field routes.

It would be better to leave the city, war observers argue. War cartographer Andrew Perpetua is especially clearly visible. “For God’s sake, Ukraine, leave Avdiivka. Just disappear,” he wrote in a post on X.

For the Ukrainian army, withdrawal is apparently out of the question. Although a partial withdrawal of the 110th Mechanized Brigade had been announced, “new troops were deployed”, according to Brigadier General Olexandr Tarnawski in charge. Which and how many units should be used initially remained open.

What is confirmed: With the 3rd Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine’s best combat troops has been moved to Avdiivka. Equipped with Western weapons, the 2,000-man unit must inflict maximum losses on the Russians.

Zelensky with a bold statement about Avdiivka

The price for the capture of Avdiivka will be high for the Russians. According to an estimate by Forbes, Ukrainian fighters could take out ten Russians for every soldier lost. In addition, there is enormous material wear. The research group “Oryx” has so far counted 200 tanks and 350 infantry fighting vehicles, which have been destroyed near Avdiivka since the beginning of October alone.

The continued shortage of ammunition on the Ukrainian side is also likely to increase the number of deaths on the Ukrainian side. Avdiivka could become a symbol of what awaits us in other sectors of the front.

The battle for Avdiivka will in many ways “determine the overall course of the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 46, said during a visit to the frontline city in December. A bold statement given the low military value of the city.

On Thursday, the Russians raised their flag at the entrance to Avdiivka. Zelensky took a selfie there in December. (no)

Source: Blick