Ukraine has committed significant forces to the defense in the area, and Russian troops are now attacking across open fields with little cover.
Illustration The fighting appears to have returned into the inconclusive battles without significant advances that characterized much of the front-line fighting last year, The New York Times reports.
“The capture of Avdiivka did not lead to the collapse of Ukrainian defense lines, the ability for the Russians to enter open territory or even make serious gains,” said Thibault Fouillet, deputy director of the US Institute for Strategic and Defense Studies, part of the French think tank.
He added that there was no decisive action or breakthrough on the battlefield.
This is a contrast to the situation that arose after the Russians captured Avdiivka in mid-February. While Ukrainian troops retreated, Russia advanced rapidly, thanks in part to the lack of strong Ukrainian defensive positions. Russian forces captured three towns and took control of nine square miles (nearly 15 square kilometers) of land, according to public maps of the battlefield.
But in the past 10 days, Moscow has captured just over a square mile of land (about 1 .6 sq. km), according to open maps. Its fighters were mired in battles in and around the villages of Berdich, Orlovka and Tonechko.
Russian troops “appear to be trying to advance using small infantry assault teams, but they are being destroyed in relatively open terrain west of Avdievka,” said Pasi Paroinen, an analyst at the Black Bird Group, a Finnish open-source community that evaluates satellite imagery and content. social networks from the battlefield.
Ukraine appears to have sent some of its best troops and weapons to fight in the area west of Avdiivka.
Military experts say the continuation of the defense in this area, probably to give Ukrainian units time to prepare and strengthen new defensive lines further to the west.
All regions of Ukraine are involved in the construction of fortifications, – Alexey Kuleba
Russia's assault on Avdeevka entailed great human and material losses for its troops. British military intelligence said the average daily number of Russian troops killed and wounded in February, when Moscow sent large numbers of forces to fight for Avdievka, reached 983, “the highest level since the start of the war.” .
