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| 'We are working on reinforcements.' The battle for Avdievka puts an end to the counterattack |
| 2023-11-23 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edoted. by Sergey Adamov [REGNUM] With the arrival of autumn cold in the Donbass, Russian troops intensified military operations in the Avdeevsky direction. With intensive support from artillery and aviation, an offensive is developing on several sectors of the front: south, north, north-west and west of the city of Avdievka. This northern suburb of Donetsk (from the center of the DPR capital to the center of Avdievka in a straight line is only about 14 kilometers), until 2014, had a population of 35,000, and after that it became an outpost from which the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched attacks on the DPR capital for many years. Now the line of combat contact near Avdievka is an arc. The heavily destroyed city is occupied by an entrenched group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which, like a wedge, protrudes into the front line and continues to threaten Donetsk from the north. Russian positions surround Avdievka on three sides. From the north of the city, the Russian Armed Forces control the villages and towns of Krasnogorovka, Vesyoloye, Kamenka. On that side of the front they are opposed by units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the villages of Ocheretino and Berdychi. From the east, our troops are trying to advance from the regional center of Yasinovataya - and here they are opposed by the Avdievka enemy group itself. From the south, from Donetsk, and from the southwest, the Russian Armed Forces control the villages of Spartak, Opytnoye and Vodyanoye. Our military is holding back the enemy from Avdievka proper and the village of Severnoye (where Russian artillery is currently operating). The most important center of enemy resistance in the city is the Avdievka Coke and Chemical Plant (AKHZ), a city-forming enterprise in the north-west of Avdievka. The territory of Koksokhim has been turned into a continuous fortified area, similar to the Mariupol Azovstal. Therefore, a frontal assault on AKHZ can lead to serious losses. Instead, Russian troops are trying to cut off the Ukrainian Armed Forces units holding Koksokhim and operating in the rest of the city from supplies from the north, an informed source located in the Avdeevsky direction explained to Regnum news agency . “The main task has not gone away. We need to push them out of the city, creating a threat to the environment. Or surround and add pressure already inside ,” the interlocutor noted. According to him, the work to close the ring is going slower than we would like, because the Ukrainian Armed Forces are striking from outside the emerging cauldron. “We are working on these reinforcements, planned work is underway,” the publication’s interlocutor noted. In an effort to cut off the supply to Avdievka along the road from the village of Ocheretino (a village northwest of Donetsk), Russian troops continue to move north from the Krasnogorovka area. Over the past 24 hours, assault units have been advancing towards Novokalinovo, a village north of Avdievka. At the same time, our military takes up positions along the Ocheretino-Avdievka railway line, in places crossing the railway embankment. It will be possible to talk about the encirclement of the Avdievka enemy group in the event that the Russian Armed Forces manage to dislodge the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the settlements of Berdychi (also north of Avdievka) and Orlovka (northwest of the city). On the other hand, the attacking forces have to constantly gain a foothold on occupied lines, trying to prevent a retaliatory strike from the enemy from outside the encirclement. Reserves from the “counter-offensive” area are being transferred to Avdievka For Kyiv, retaining the Avdeevsky fortified area is an important image task. Previously, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that the city is securely fortified and will not be surrendered. After the threat of complete encirclement loomed over Avdievka, the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrew units from other sectors of the front, which were sent to support the Ukrainian group in the city. “Our successful actions led to the fact that additional formations were transferred to the Avdievka area. They also use formations that were preparing for a “counter-offensive,” a source told IA Regnum . According to his information, the forces of the 47th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which has German Leopard-2 tanks at its disposal, have been deployed to the Olkhovka area north of Avdievka. They are not getting any closer to the front yet, the source added. “And there are rumors that they are also trying to remove artillery from other areas in favor of Avdievka, because we previously seriously knocked it out here,” noted IA Regnum’s interlocutor . Why were cluster bombs needed? On the one hand, the transfer of additional reinforcements to the Avdievka area puts an end to the continuation of the Ukrainian “counter-offensive”. On the other hand, even strengthening the city’s garrison ultimately only leads to a slowdown in the pace of the Russian offensive. In recent weeks, the advancing forces of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps were able to advance west of Avdievka: in the area between the villages of Vodyanoye and Severnoe. However, the actions of assault groups are complicated by the layered defense of the enemy. Aviation is actively working to destroy the fortified areas of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Avdievsky direction. For the first time in this sector of the front , RBK-500 cluster aviation munitions were used against the enemy. The air strike hit the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defensive unit in the area of the western outskirts of Avdievka. It is in this direction that the advancing forces of the Russian army are trying to get close to urban development. Judging by the video evidence that appeared on social networks on November 22, cluster bombs (namely, their use is indicated by the “scattering of lights” over a large area after an attack on enemy positions) have already been repeatedly used against fortified areas of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Avdievka. “The main task of aviation is to break through their defenses in those areas where they were built over not even months, but many years,” noted the interlocutor of IA Regnum . — Cluster munitions are best suited here, since they work immediately across the area of an entire fortified area. And even if someone survived, the morale there was seriously damaged.” “The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to prevent us from withdrawing our forces” Simultaneously with defensive actions in the Avdievka area, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are attempting an offensive on the front in the Zaporozhye region and in the south of the DPR. Due to the high losses in armor suffered in the summer battles, new assaults are carried out almost exclusively by infantry forces and, as a rule, lead to heavy losses in the ranks of the Ukrainian troops. As a rule, for an offensive, the enemy uses front sectors in the area of the settlements of Staromayorskoye in the Yuzhnodonetsk direction and Rabotino in the Zaporozhye sector of the front. Experts believe that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine realizes that such attacks cannot bring any significant success, however, in strategic terms, the offensive attempts are designed to ease the situation of the forces operating in Avdievka. “Probably the only task that they can pursue during the offensive is to divert our forces from the same Avdievka, from Kherson . They do not have the strength to make a powerful advance on any section of the front. I ran out of strength in the summer. But they strive to prevent us from withdrawing our forces, that’s why they are moving forward ,” notes IA Regnum’s interlocutor . Plans for “after Avdievka” In turn, Ukrainian sources covering the situation in Avdievka admit that the situation in the city’s garrison is getting worse every day. Therefore, in the near future, a decision may be made to retreat from the city in order to preserve the most combat-ready units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces operating in the Donetsk direction. For Ukrainian troops in the city itself, the situation is complicated by the fact that the remaining supply routes for the city and the “mainland” are under constant fire from Russian artillery and drones. Therefore, in the future, the garrison may face a shortage of ammunition and other resources. It is possible that some units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be left for the defense of the Avdeevsky Coke and Chemical Plant. According to unconfirmed reports, reserves were created in the workshops of the enterprise that would allow them to be held for a long time. However, this plan will most likely not be implemented, since the forces holding the plant will sooner or later find themselves on the brink of starvation and will be forced to fight in complete encirclement. Therefore, the tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Avdeevsky direction ultimately boil down to making the advance of Russian troops as difficult as possible, and then trying to break out of the emerging cauldron. In the future, Ukrainian troops may take up defensive positions in the area of the village of Novoselovka. However, the loss of Avdievka will deprive the enemy of the opportunity to shell Donetsk or plan any active offensive actions in the direction of the DPR capital. |
| Posted by:badanov |