Ukraine declares from Avdiivka: "We will stand firm to the end"

A Ukrainian police officer stands in front of a burning building after a Russian bombing in Avdiivka (Photo: AP).

Russia determined to capture frontline city of Avdiivka

According to the Guardian , over the past two months, the Russian army has been trying to take control of the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.

First, they launched a massive frontal attack but suffered heavy losses, dozens of pieces of equipment were destroyed. Then Russia sent armored columns forward in different directions. Now, in the third wave, small groups of infantry are being sent to penetrate Ukrainian positions.

"There were dozens of bodies. They tried to advance. We knocked them down. The enemy poured in more," said Ivan Smaga, deputy commander of the 25th Ukrainian "storm" battalion defending Avdiivka.

"It started out as a group of 10. Now it's just one or two or three gunmen without any backup," he said.

"Russian soldiers ordered to fight used ingenious methods to survive. Some crawled on the frozen ground. Others dug trenches. When they finally got up to move, Ukrainian drones and artillery mowed them down," Smaga said.

Fighting in Adviika and southern and eastern Ukraine continued as EU leaders met in Brussels to negotiate Ukraine’s membership of the bloc and billions of dollars in economic and military support for the country, amid concerns in Kiev about the strength of Western backing.

Meanwhile in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to continue fighting. "There will be peace when we achieve our goals," he said last week.

Avdiivka has been on the front lines for nearly a decade. In the spring of 2014, Russia launched a military takeover of the city of Donetsk, the region’s capital, a little over 5km southwest and a 20-minute drive away.

Then the Ukrainians faced off against the Russians in an industrial zone overlooking a treeless wasteland. Bullets flew in both directions.

In the first weeks of the conflict last year, Russian troops swept through much of southern and eastern Ukraine. But they failed to capture Avdiivka, where Ukrainian forces have built vast fortifications and underground command posts that have been visited by Western officials.

The city is an unusual horseshoe shape, from Moscow's perspective, surrounded on three sides by Russian-controlled territory.

Map of the Ukrainian war in the Avdiivka area as of December 15 (Photo: Rybar).

Difficult situation

At this point, the Ukrainian soldiers defending the city are holding out. The Russians have “more stuff,” Smaga said. That includes 40,000 troops massed in Avdiivka, tanks, armored fighting vehicles and 152mm guns.

Smaga said that since the end of the summer, less ammunition has been reaching his unit, "we have enough to defend against the attack. But if they continue, we will need more."

What happens in Avdiivka has huge symbolic value. For the Kremlin, winning it would boost Putin's campaign ahead of elections in March, when he will run for president for a fifth term.

Recent Russian attacks across the eastern front, including around the town of Bakhmut, appear to be driven by politics and narrative as much as military logic with a clear message: Russia is winning and Ukraine is losing.

For Kiev, the collapse of Avdiivka will add to the gloom after a failed counteroffensive earlier this year. This week, President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Washington to ask for more security assistance in the face of opposition from Republicans in the House and Senate.

The Western alliance that has supported Kiev, providing weapons and taking in refugees, appears to be falling apart.

Avdiivka, once home to 25,000 people, is now a vast ruin. Russian warplanes and artillery have crushed buildings. "They are constantly shooting," said resident Vitalik Santakov.

Incredibly, 1,200 people still live in the city. "I was the last person left in a five-story building. I didn't sleep in the basement because it was cold and there were rats," Santakov said, adding, "My place was bombed. I moved to a neighbor's apartment. The windows were blown out. Then I moved to a third one."

Last week volunteers evacuated Santakov from Avdiivka.

Why do some residents refuse to leave as bombs fall around them? Tamara Tamkova, an 85-year-old widow who was evacuated, said on Tuesday that she had nowhere else to go.

Massengo Djizlan, a soldier of the 25th Ukrainian battalion, cleans his gun at a base near Avdiivka (Photo: The Guardian).

As living conditions worsen, the Russians push forward. Ten days ago, they seized Promka, an industrial area on the southeastern outskirts of the city. In the northwest, fierce fighting is taking place in the village of Stepove. Russian troops have launched a series of attacks on the Avdiivka coal and chemical plant. They have captured the prominent high dump, but so far they have been unable to breach the fence surrounding the plant.

"The factory is ours. No Russian soldier has been able to get inside," said the deputy commander of the 25th battalion.

The plant, owned by tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, occupies a vast area. Built 60 years ago, it once employed 4,000 people. It has blast furnaces and underground nuclear bunkers. Some of the last civilian workers who maintained the generators have left. The Russians are trying to advance along the railway line and a series of lakes where workers once fished.

The commander said Ukraine urgently needed air power to repel Russian warplanes dropping 500kg FAB bombs. Western equipment was vital if his troops were to hold off the Russians, especially heavy artillery.

His 47th Mechanized Brigade uses the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle provided by the US. "I like Bradleys a lot. They are terrifying to the enemy. They are easy to control. When you sit inside, you feel protected," he said.

After nearly two years of all-out fighting, Ukrainian officers say they have no choice but to continue fighting.

How long Avdiivka will remain a Ukrainian town is uncertain. The subject of withdrawing from Avdiivka is not discussed, at least not publicly.

During the harsh winter, soldiers stood in icy trenches, warming themselves with homemade tin cans and lighting themselves with candles. There were constant explosions.

"We will stand firm until the last minute. If the West does not support us, Moscow will try to take Kiev like in 2022," Smaga said.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-tuyen-bo-tu-avdiivka-chung-toi-se-tru-vung-den-cuoi-cung-20231215112948091.htm