Russia intensifies offensive against Avdievka in October
Kyiv:
Ukraine’s new army chief said early Saturday morning that Ukrainian troops had withdrawn from the devastated eastern town of Avdievka, paving the way for Russia’s biggest advance since seizing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Kiev said the withdrawal, announced as Ukraine faces a severe ammunition shortage and that U.S. military aid has been delayed by Congress for months, is aimed at avoiding a full siege by Russian forces after months of fierce fighting.
Gen. Alexander Silsky, who took over the Ukrainian army in a major reshuffle last week, said Ukrainian troops had withdrawn to safer positions outside the town, which had a pre-war population of 32,000.
“I decided to withdraw my troops from the town and move from a more advantageous line of defense to avoid encirclement and protect the lives and health of servicemen,” he was quoted as saying in an armed forces statement.
Losing the town nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion may lead President Volodymyr Zelensky to offer more urgent military aid to the West when he addresses the Munich Security Conference on Saturday morning.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Avdivka was at risk of falling into the hands of Russian forces because of a shortage of ammunition, after months of opposition in the Republican Congress to new U.S. military aid plans for Kiev.
Seizing Avdiivka is key to Russia’s goal of taking full control of two provinces in the industrial Donbass region and could deliver a battlefield victory for President Vladimir Putin as he seeks re-election next month.
Avdivka has borne the brunt of increasing offensive pressure from Russian forces in the east as wavering Western military aid has exacerbated force fatigue in the past two years.
“We are taking steps to stabilize the situation and maintain our position,” Silski said.
There was no immediate comment from the Russian Defense Ministry, Zelensky or Ukraine’s defense minister on the withdrawal.
Insufficient troops and outnumbered
Russia stepped up its offensive against Avdievka in October, and Ukraine’s position has seemed increasingly concerning in weeks.
This week, the 3rd Commando Brigade, a key Ukrainian infantry assault force, was rushed to the town to help reinforce troops as other Ukrainian forces retreated from the southeast of the town.
The force described the fighting as “hell” and said on social media that in some places Ukrainian defenders outnumbered Russian troops by about six to one hundred.
Russia has not detailed its losses in the brutal fighting over the town, but Ukrainian officials and Western military analysts say its advances have come at a staggering cost in terms of men and armored vehicles.
The town, which now has fewer than 1,000 residents, lies north of the Russian-controlled bastion of Donetsk, which Ukraine lost control of when Moscow’s proxies began an uprising in 2014. Avdivka had a large coking plant, but it ceased operation during the war.
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