Large Russian armored tank convoy destroyed by Ukraine near Avdiivka

Russian paratroopers fighting in Ukraine (Illustration: Reuters).

According to the Kyiv Post , the latest video of the fighting for control of Avdiivka shows what is becoming a regular occurrence: the destruction of a column of Russian armored vehicles under Ukrainian artillery fire.

The video shows several Russian vehicles driving through a field at an undisclosed location near the besieged city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

As the lead tank crossed the crater-strewn landscape, it was hit by artillery fire from the Ukrainian 116th Independent Brigade.

The tank's turret can be seen flying into the air as the vehicle explodes in a large fireball.

The other tanks in the Russian attack, despite seeing the fate of their comrades, merely slowed down and continued to press forward, plowing into the same pocket of fire. One was hit and completely destroyed while another suffered less damage and at least some of its crew managed to escape.

The drone video then cuts to a wider shot showing three more burning wrecks while another tank hastily retreats.

These scenes have become common as Russia continues its efforts, believed to be at great cost, to seize control of Avdiivka.

Last month, a video showed at least 14 Russian armored vehicles apparently forced to move single file through minefields behind a tank fitted with mine-clearing equipment, trying to survive attacks with high explosives and cluster munitions.

The bulk of this force was BTR (Soviet/post-Soviet armored personnel carriers), half of which were knocked out or disabled and left smoking by the time the battle was over, while the Ukrainian positions appeared to be intact.

A close-up of the edited two-minute video shows at least five Russian infantrymen jumping out of a BTR near Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian anti-tank missiles fired at close range would hit the BTR within seconds.

Russia has suffered record losses in its attempt to take control of Andiivka, with other footage of the fighting showing chaotic scenes and even Russian vehicles reportedly running over their own soldiers.

Russia has once again stepped up attacks on Avdiivka and is “almost certainly carrying out pincer movements to encircle the city,” reports said on November 16.

Russian armored unit blocked by Ukraine near Avdiivka (Source: X/Twitter).

Vitaliy Barabash, mayor of Avdiivka, told state television that Moscow forces were using armoured vehicles, targeting industrial zones and attacking positions in the inner city "around the clock" to bring down high-rise buildings.

"Avdiivka is very hot. Indeed, in the past few days, the opponent has been more active," he added.

The British Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence report that Russia "is almost certainly carrying out pincer movements to encircle the city".

They said Russian forces could be near the giant Avdiivka coke and chemical plant in a “tactically important position” near the main road leading into the city.

Russia's losses in Avdiivka are indisputable, as the images released by Ukraine attest to. However, according to the latest battlefield developments, the price Moscow's forces have suffered is in exchange for new advances.

Map of the Ukrainian war in the Avdiivka area (Photo: Telegram).

The Avdiivka siege was closing in, the main supply route into the city had been cut off by Russian fire while the two northern and southern attacks were making progress.

On November 20, a Ukrainian company in the south of Avdiivka raised a white flag in surrender, and today, November 21, another 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade abandoned its positions and withdrew from the hottest area, also in the south of the city. The Ukrainian military has not commented, but pro-Kiev channels have acknowledged Russia's advances.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/doan-xe-tang-thiet-giap-lon-cua-nga-bi-ukraine-pha-huy-gan-avdiivka-20231121141445830.htm