According to Ukraine’s commander of southern forces, Russia detained a few Ukrainian soldiers while Kyiv’s forces were leaving the important town of Avdiivka.
Following some of the worst fighting in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, Ukraine declared on Friday that it was leaving the town, which is northwest of Donetsk city.
The action came after weeks of increasing Russian bombardment of the region with artillery and aircraft, as well as waves of ground assaults by infantry and armored vehicles.
Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s southern military, stated in a Telegram post on Friday that withdrawing from the town was “the only correct solution,” noting that some Ukrainian troops had been taken in the process.
“This is the only correct solution in a situation where the enemy is advancing on the corpses of their own soldiers, under constant bombardment, with a ten-to-one shell advantage.” the commander stated. Tarnavskyi continued, “Russian troops are numerically superior in terms of personnel, artillery, and aviation.”
He claimed that within the previous 24 hours, Moscow’s forces had launched 20 airstrikes and more than 150 artillery attacks in the region, and that the Russians were “practically erasing the city from the face of the earth.”
The choice was made shortly after Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s new military chief, and Rustem Umerov, the country’s defense minister, visited the front lines in Avdiivka and promised to deploy troops in order to “prevent the enemy from advancing deeper into our territory.”
But by Thursday, the enemy was “coming from all sides” and the situation in the town was described as “hellish” by the Ukrainian forces fighting to retain it.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Syrskyi stated that he was relocating soldiers to protect “more favorable lines” and that he had ordered the pullback “to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”
“Everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units and inflict significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,” he said of the Ukrainian soldiers.
The speaker stated that Ukraine was “taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain positions,” emphasizing the importance of military personnel’s lives.
The 3rd Assault Brigade commander, who led one of the most combat-tested groups in Ukraine ordered to defend Avdiivka, stated that the withdrawal allowed Ukrainian forces to “come back and strike even harder.”
“I express my gratitude to the command for their thoughtful decision,” Andrii Biletsky wrote on Saturday on Telegram. “I express my gratitude to the soldiers for their valiant resistance against the adversary in Avdiivka, despite the Russians’ overwhelming numerical advantage in terms of manpower, equipment, and shells,” he continued.
Moscow seems to have determined that, given its numerical advantage, these casualties were worthwhile despite the fact that Russia has also sustained enormous losses in its advance on Avdiivka.
A serious setback for Ukraine
The fact that Ukraine has withdrawn shows how the battle has seemingly shifted in Putin’s favor in recent months and is a concrete win for Moscow.
Donetsk city, which has been ruled by Russia since 2014, is directly northwest of the town. Therefore, Donetsk is now more better secured and harder to attack for Ukraine thanks to the acquisition of Avdiivka. It also has a sizable coke plant on its outskirts, and a railway line passes through it, which might make Russian supply lines more efficient.
Undoubtedly, its loss is a blow to Ukraine.
The country is witnessing indications that its once-relentless backing from the West is eroding, particularly from its crucial US ally, as a counteroffensive that was initiated months ago with the intention of regaining significant territory has failed.
Furthermore, turning the war back to Russia will be extremely difficult for Syrskyi, Ukraine’s new army chief, given that his country is trailing behind in other areas of the front.
In October, Moscow’s forces launched an operation in the vicinity of Avdiivka. Since then, waves of men and armored vehicles have been pressuring it, turning it into a site of intense warfare under constant Russian shelling.
Russia had been focusing its efforts on taking up the surrounding districts and encircling Avdiivka.
Serhii Tsekhotskyi, an officer in Ukraine, recently revealed to Ukrainian media that Russia is sending out a sizable military force to fight for Avdiivka. He insisted, many were being slain.
He declared, “They do not spare their people.”
The Russian attack was reminiscent of the “meat-grinder” methods employed to take Bakhmut last year; according to a NATO source, Russia lost five soldiers for every Ukrainian soldier killed defending Bakhmut.
However, Ukrainian forces that were deeply rooted in the region had halted Moscow’s advances in Avdiivka.
“Our attack team was required to hold a 150-meter-wide trench. In a rare interview, Sentsov stated, “We went in, took 50 meters, and could not push further because there was strong resistance by a lot of enemy infantry there.”
Ever since Russia began its renewed onslaught, Ukraine claimed to have dealt enormous blows to Russian military personnel and equipment.
In December, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, referred to the fighting in the city as a “onslaught” and stated that it may “determine the overall course of the war” in numerous ways.
An uncommon tangible benefit
Near the Donetsk city airport, Avdiivka has been at the forefront of the conflict ever since Russian-backed rebels took control of much of the Donbas region in 2014, including the nearby city of Donetsk. Since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, it has come under attack.
Russia’s takeover of the town represents a unique, tangible victory amid both sides’ sluggish progress on the battlefield.
Russia has been launching massive airstrikes against Ukraine this winter, targeting vital infrastructure and big towns with a variety of drones and missiles, increasing the strain on Ukraine’s air defenses.
Ukraine has issued a warning, stating that it is witnessing significant fighting in the northeast along a length of land where the districts of Kharkiv and Luhansk meet, as well as a fresh Russian onslaught along much of the frontline. Moscow’s forces have not made any significant progress there, but Ukraine has been obliged to cede several areas of land that it had successfully retaken in the late summer of 2022.
Recent Russian offensives have coincided with Ukraine’s announcement that it is severely short on ammunition.
President Joe Biden’s national security adviser warned late last year that “we are running out of money, and we are nearly out of time,” sparking growing concerns that Ukraine’s US lifeline is dangling by a thread.
On February 7, in the face of a barrage of criticism from prominent House Republicans and former President Donald Trump, Senate Republicans vetoed a significant bipartisan border agreement and foreign aid package that included cash for Israel and Ukraine. The White House is trying again to get Congress to approve military assistance for Ukraine, but it is not at all apparent that House Republicans would back it.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel last year and the escalating crisis in the Middle East, there have been worries that Ukraine is falling further down the West’s priority.
Zelensky, meantime, announced early in February that General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, had been fired. This was the largest military change since Russia began its full-scale invasion over two years prior.
Putin has even greater motivation to win in Ukraine because of an upcoming election in Russia the following month. The head of the Kremlin is anticipated to win the election and serve as president until 2030. He is seeking a fifth term.
As they look farther forward to 2024, NATO allies worry that Russian President Vladimir Putin would undertake a more extensive onslaught after winning what are regarded as a formality in the eyes of Western observers in his country’s March presidential elections.
We will be updating this story as it develops.
