[LB] The capture of Avdiivka is of great importance for the occupiers.
by Ivanna Kapustyanska
Russian troops have set another date for the capture of Donetsk region. the occupiers plan to enter the administrative borders of Donetsk region by December 31. Capturing the heights of Avdiivka is of great importance to the Russians. Vitaliy Barabash, the head of the city military administration of Avdiivka, told about this on the air of Ukrainian Radio, writes "Ukrinform".
"They have set another date for entering the administrative borders of Donetsk region. Now it is December 31. That is, by the end of the year, they have been assigned the task of entering the administrative borders of Donetsk region. They understand: if they take the height of Avdiyivka, then it will be easier for them to reach Pokrovsk and so on. That is why Avdiyivka is extremely important for them," said head Barabash.
Barabash notes that although Russian troops have stepped up in the Avdiyiv direction, that line of defense "stood and is still standing".
"They did not manage to take any strategic height. There are a lot of troops from that side. And they are now trying to compensate for all their failures on the battlefield with a large number of air rocket and artillery strikes on the city. The city is really being erased," Barabash stated.
According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the night alone, the enemy launched 13 anti-aircraft missiles, 12 during the day, and 31 air-missile strikes in the past day only on the territory of the community.
Barabash also notes that the enemy is trying to "shackle" Ukrainian forces in the Avdiyiv direction.
"They want to seize these heights and not give us the opportunity to control a very serious section of the front near Donetsk. This is more than 50 kilometers of the front line. This is a lot. Moreover, it is a front line that is close to Donetsk. Secondly, to divert attention a little and not to give an opportunity to transfer our forces to other directions," said the head of the Avdiiv MBA.
In addition, according to him, the occupiers were waiting for the main blow of the counteroffensive on Donetsk, and now they are presenting the situation in such a way that they seem to have prevented it and started the offensive actions first.
"They needed at least some kind of "victory", because lately they have not been doing well with it. And for this reason, Avdiivka was chosen, who has been around since 2014, but is indomitable, whom they cannot take. What they did not do for all these years - nothing comes out of them," Barabash stated.
Due to active hostilities, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the city has been stopped, "however, food, hygiene products, and medicine are in sufficient quantity, with a reserve for a little more than two months," the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted.
We will remind you that in the past day, the enemy has not stopped trying to break through our defense in the Avdiyiv direction , but without success. Our defenders repelled about 20 enemy attacks in the areas of A