TASS news agency reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense has issued an official statement regarding the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the city of Avdeevka. According to General Sergey Shoigu, Russian Defense Minister, within 2 days of fighting, the AFU lost more than 2,400 soldiers on this hot front.
The Russian Defense Minister added that the information about the above casualty figures was collected by the Ukrainian side.
Earlier, General Sergey Shoigu also assessed the losses of Russian forces in the battle for control of Avdeevka. Accordingly, the Russian Army suffered minimal casualties in the operation. The Russian General Staff planned the Avdeevka operation so skillfully and accurately that it could be included in military textbooks.
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| The Russian army won a resounding victory at Avdeevka. Photo: Getty |
According to information published by The New York Times, in the battle at Avdeevka, more than 1,000 AFU soldiers were killed, captured or went missing.
“Some 850 to more than 1,000 soldiers are believed to have been captured or missing in action,” The New York Times reported.
This is a “heavy loss” figure that could deal a heavy blow to the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian Army.
Ukraine's withdrawal from Avdeevka was poorly planned and started too late. Meanwhile, US officials say Ukraine's loss of Avdeevka is not a significant strategic defeat.
On February 17, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin that the Central Army group under the command of General Andrei Mordvichev had taken complete control of the city of Avdeevka.
This settlement was a strong defense center of the AFU, but in the face of fierce attacks by the Russian Army, the Ukrainian defense units abandoned their fighting positions and left behind all weapons and military equipment.
On February 20, General Shoigu reported to the Russian President that during the battles for Avdeevka, the Russian Armed Forces carried out up to 450 precision strikes on the city per day. For the operation near Avdeevka, the military concentrated the maximum number of weapons capable of striking the areas with high precision, and emphasized that the losses of the Russian Army were minimal.
“At one point in the offensive, we carried out up to 460 air strikes per day. (...) About 200 tons of bombs fell per day with an accuracy of 8-10 meters. For such a 500-kilogram bomb to destroy an area of several dozen square meters. Can you imagine?”, General Sergey Shoigu emphasized.
The operation to seize control of Avdeevka was actually planned since the fall of 2023, and its progress deserves to be recorded as a memorable feat in the history of modern warfare.
Regarding this important front, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov said that in fact, Ukrainian soldiers began to flee uncontrollably from Avdeevka a day before the order to retreat from the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, General Syrsky.
The commander of the Tavria operational-strategic group of the AFU, General Alexander Tarnavsky, called the withdrawal a correct decision, as the defense forces could not survive under the heavy Russian firepower. Another reason given was the lack of artillery shells, as for every Ukrainian shell fired, 10 Russian shells were fired in return. Ukrainian military commanders said they would retake Avdeevka in the near future.
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| Many other battlefields are also collapsing in Ukraine's hands. Photo: Reuters. |
In a conversation with the Russian President on the evening of February 20, General Sergey Shoigu said that the village of Krynki in the Kherson region was completely under the control of the Russian army. According to him, the settlement, which was a bridgehead for the Ukrainian army on the left bank of the Dnieper River, was completely under control, and this put an end to the AFU counterattack.
Early on February 21, Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo posted a clip of the Russian flag being raised in Krynki.
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