Russia sends troops to attack, airstrikes in Eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian forces in Avdiivka (Photo: Reuters).

According to Reuters , Ukrainian officials said on November 13 that Russian forces had suffered heavy losses around the city of Avdiivka. They also said that Ukrainian forces had repelled Russian attacks in other areas along the 1,000km frontline.

Russia has focused its resources on eastern Ukraine. By mid-October, Moscow had launched an operation to seize control of Avdiivka, 20km from the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.

"Fighting continues. Over the past two days, the enemy has intensified airstrikes using guided bombs from Su-35 aircraft. The enemy is also mobilizing more and more infantry," Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun told state television.

“However, when they tried to deploy armored vehicles the day before, two tanks and 14 other vehicles were burned,” Shtupun added.

Mr Barabash also said “not a single building” remained intact in the city, saying Avdiivka had just over 1,500 people left out of a pre-conflict population of 32,000 and evacuations were underway. The hospital was under constant shelling and only one shop was open.

"It's simple, Avdiivka and the strategic location of this area is geographically located on high ground and you can see Donetsk from here. And that's what they need," said Avdiivka official.

Location of Avdiivka city in Eastern Ukraine (Photo: BBC).

Avdiivka is a strategic city in Donetsk Oblast, considered the gateway to eastern Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russia has tended to concentrate its forces to encircle and gain control of Avdiivka. The current tactic of the Ukrainian army is to divert forces from other fronts to protect Avdiivka, but still avoid spreading its troops too thin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chief of the General Staff of the Army Valerii Zaluzhnyi listed the most tense and difficult fronts in the conflict with Russia today, including Avdiivka.

"Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Lyman, Kupyansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, are the most difficult and tense fronts," President Zelensky said in a video address on the evening of November 13.

According to Ukrainian military analysts, the situation in Avdiivka is very difficult as Russian forces have concentrated about 40,000 troops on this front. Moscow's goal of encircling Avdiivka is clear through the pressure from Vesele and Krasnohorivka in the north as well as Vodiane and Opytne in the south.

Military expert Vladyslav Seleznov said that recently, Russia has controlled the highways connecting Avdiivka with neighboring areas, and at the same time narrowed the distance between the two northern and southern pincers to only 7km.

Russia is showing its superiority by continuously increasing its supply of weapons and manpower mobilized from other frontline areas. Reserve Forces Major Oleksii Hetman explained that Russia is trying to surround Avdiivka and cut off the supply of reinforcements to Ukrainian forces.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-dieu-quan-tien-cong-khong-kich-don-dap-chao-lua-mien-dong-ukraine-20231114185940604.htm