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| Post Mortem on the battle for Avdievka for February 21st, 2024 |
| 2024-02-22 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. During the retreat from Avdiivka, up to 1,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers disappeared - 728th day of the Northern Military District [REGNUM] The 728th day of the special military operation (SVO) was marked by a discussion of an article by the American edition of The New York Times (NYT) about an impressive number of Ukrainian soldiers who went missing or were captured during the retreat in Avdievka, Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). With reference to unnamed military personnel who made the calculations, the media reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) were missing from 850 to 1,000 people. NYT sources also admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ retreat from Avdievka was poorly planned and began too late. In turn, the authors of the article note: the loss of control over the city could aggravate the weakening of the morale of the Ukrainian military. This was preceded by a failed counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the removal of commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny. The fact that the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Avdievka on February 17 and 18 amounted to 2,400 troops was said the day before, on February 20, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. “Two battalions,” the Supreme Commander-in-Chief specified the scale of losses. Meanwhile, the Russian Viking special forces unit, while clearing Avdievka, discovered US-made mines and grenades thrown by Ukrainian troops during their retreat. Judging by the fact that the ammunition was included with everything necessary for its use, a unit soldier in a conversation with RIA Novosti suggested that the MON-50, for example, came to Avdievka from an official shipment from NATO warehouses. The Russian Armed Forces also achieved success on the right bank of the Dnieper. The Ministry of Defense reported on February 21 that artillery paratroopers of the Dnepr group of troops destroyed a drone control center and a warehouse with motor boats of the Ukrainian Armed Forces there. It is noted that attacks on targets were carried out from 152-mm howitzers 2A36 "Gyacinth-B". More from regnum.ru WP: tired military personnel of the 110th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces left Avdievka without approval Servicemen of the 110th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who were located in Avdievka (DPR), left this settlement due to fatigue without prior approval from the command, The Washington Post (WP) newspaper reported on February 21, citing Ukrainian fighters. According to journalists, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces left the city chaotically, without any plan. One of the newspaper’s interlocutors clarified that some Ukrainian military personnel received orders to take positions that were destroyed or taken by Russian troops. He also emphasized that the servicemen who left the city were very exhausted, since they had been serving for almost two years without rotation. The commander of one of the detachments of the 53rd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that not all Ukrainian soldiers were able to get out of Avdievka. He added that fleeing the city had psychologically broken some Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters. As Regnum reported, The New York Times previously wrote that during the retreat of Ukrainian troops from Avdievka, up to one thousand military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were captured or went missing. On February 17, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the liberation of the city by the Russian army. The head of state, in turn, expressed gratitude to the Russian Armed Forces and congratulated them on their important victory. On February 19, it became known that Russian troops had delivered more than 20 wounded Ukrainian soldiers, abandoned by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during their flight, to the hospital from Avdievka. Even more from regnum.ru General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Krivonos: the failure of Ukrainian intelligence led to the surrender of Avdievka by Kiev The failure of Ukrainian intelligence resulted in the flight of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Avdievka. This opinion was expressed on February 21 by retired Ukrainian Army General Sergei Krivonos on the Pryamoy TV channel. “It would have been possible to defend Avdievka for quite a long time, but due to the maneuver of the Russian military, with the help of which they reached our rear, the reliability and stability of our defense was undermined,” he said. Krivonos also pointed to the failure of Ukrainian intelligence, which failed to detect the advance of the Russian Armed Forces into Avdievka, which then cut off the Ukrainian units located in the city, which became the reason for the loss of control over the village. As Regnum reported, on February 20, Krivonos said that Ukrainian soldiers were captured while fleeing Avdievka due to poor evacuation. The retired general called this problem a systemic one for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute for the Study of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on February 19 that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after the surrender of Avdievka, are unlikely to decide to launch a counteroffensive again. According to the expert, after fleeing the city, Ukrainian troops found themselves in a stalemate. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov ! said on February 21 that the Russian army liberated Avdievka in a fairly short time. The military man noted that this was preceded by a long period of preparation for the offensive. Yet even more from regnum.ru Tanker of the RF Armed Forces Bely: The Ukrainian Armed Forces sacrificed elite units when escaping from Avdievka The command of the Ukrainian troops sacrificed elite units during the surrender of Avdievka, and this turned out to be a wasted sacrifice. This opinion was expressed on February 21 by a Russian tankman with the call sign Bely who participated in the liberation of the city. “The Ukrainian command sacrificed its elite unit “Azov” so that the rest would leave. It was wrong, they left their elite in Avdievka for no reason,” TASS quoted him as saying. The military man said that during the liberation of Avdievka, the crews of Russian tanks carried out targeted strikes from closed positions on fortifications and houses with Ukrainian fighters, and at that time other units of the Russian army came to their rear. “We just squeezed them, they had no choice. If they had not left, they would have remained there forever,” the tanker explained. As Regnum reported, on February 20, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu revealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin the details of the operation to liberate Avdievka. The minister clarified that the General Staff managed to carry out the operation with minimal losses and the Russian army carried out up to 450 high-precision air strikes per day on Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the city. Shoigu noted that the Russian Armed Forces created unbearable conditions for the Ukrainian army in Avdievka and forced the enemy to flee. He also said that this military operation would go down in the history books, and added that after the liberation of the city, the offensive would continue in a western direction. On February 21, the military of one of the assault detachments of the Russian Armed Forces group “Center” told the details of the installation of the Russian national flag on the building of the Avdievka city administration. According to them, the flag was delivered to the installation site using a drone. Later that day, the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, ! said that the Russian army was able to liberate Avdievka in a fairly short time. He clarified that before this there was a long period of preparation. |
| Posted by:badanov |