Russian invasion forces are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka, which is located near occupied Donetsk.

The city has been on the front line for more than nine years.

Let’s consider why it is so important for the Russians to capture Avdiivka and what losses in manpower and equipment invaders suffered during attacks on Ukrainian defense lines.

The beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war

Avdiivka, which had been controlled by pro-Russian militants since late April 2014, was liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on July 28, 2014. Since then, the city has been constantly under Russian shelling.

The invaders during this time made repeated attempts to knock out Ukrainian forces from the city and neighboring settlements, which ensured the stability of the city’s defense.

For more than nine years, the Ukrainian military has erected powerful defensive fortifications on the approaches to Avdiivka that represent a great obstacle to the advancing Russian invasion forces.

The Great War

When Russia officially launched the invasion to Ukraine, the invaders announced their plans to completely seize the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Avdiivka was declared one of their goals. Hostilities in this direction intensified on February 21, 2023.

To get closer and try to encircle and capture the city, the Russians first had to oust Ukrainian forces from the surrounding settlements, where they had held positions since 2014, and to cut logistic support routes.

As it is known, in early June 2022, the invaders occupied the territory near Kamianka. Later in July, Russian troops captured Novoselivka Druha, 10 km northeast of Avdiivka, trying to encircle the city. In the same month, the invaders blocked two roads leading to the Ukrainian city. Also then, hostilities north of Avdiivka intensified.

On July 28, the Russians launched an offensive to encircle Avdiivka. Then Russian forces attacked the city of Krasnohorivka, the village of Pisky and other settlements north of Avdiivka. On July 31, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian troops tried to advance in the area of the villages of Kamianka and Pisky and that some Russian units had “partial success” in the area of Avdiivka.

On August 5, it became known that the Ukrainian side lost the Butivka coal mine. Subsequently, the invaders took control of the village of Pisky, destroyed by artillery attacks. Thus, they had approximated their positions to the Ukrainian forces in the north and south of Avdiivka.

Further, the hostilities around the city continued, but without large-scale attempts by the Russians to advance on the Ukrainian position. They continue constant artillery shelling; Ukrainian artillery responds and conducts counter-battery warfare.

Battle of Avdiivka in 2023

If you look at the battle map where the positions of the parties are marked, you can see that Avdiivka and nearby settlements controlled by Ukraine are in fact dents along the Donetsk direction. At the same time, the direct distance from Avdiivka to Donetsk, temporarily occupied by Russians, does not exceed 10 kilometers. This makes the city an important location with which artillery can provide fire control over the logistics routes of providing the Russian invaders on this section of the frontline.

Therefore, the battle for Avdiivka is very difficult. It is important for Russia to create a controlled zone around Donetsk in order to fully use the occupied city as the main support hub and place of basing for its forces.

Avdiivka is very fortified. One of the important defense centers is Avdiivka Coke (Coke and Chemical Plant), the largest enterprise of this type in Europe. Its concrete structures are used as defensive lines that are constantly under enemy shelling and airstrikes.

During the previous 18 months of the big war, the Russians gradually pushed the flanks south and north of Avdiivka, forming two salients and trying to encircle the Ukrainian troops.

The invasion troops of the Russian Federation intensified assault operations near Avdiivka on October 10. The head of the city military administration, Vitalii Barabash, said that Russian troops carried out the largest attack on the Ukrainian city during the entire war since 2014.

“I can definitely say that this is the largest offensive that was in general on Avdiivka in all the times of the war, since 2014… But this is not the end of the story that they began on October 10,” Barabash noted.

Russia wants to occupy the entire Donetsk region by the end of 2023. That is why Russian troops are storming the city of Avdiivka. In order to surround the Ukrainian city, the enemy threw into battle a lot of forces with the support of armored vehicles. Fierce battles continue.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the invaders carried out offensive actions with forces of up to three battalions. The purpose of the offensive was to advance towards Stepove and capture the high point (terricone – ed.). The enemy also wants to cut the supply routes and establish a tactical encirclement of the Avdiivka group of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The Russians carry out continuous artillery shelling.

Before a large-scale offensive, Avdiivka was subjected to airstrikes. The aircraft of the invaders used gliding bombs without entering the zones of action of the Ukrainian air defense. They dropped bombs a few tens of kilometers from the front line.

Immediately before the offensive, early in the morning of October 10, the city and the positions of the Defense Forces were subjected to massive shelling from gun artillery, multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) and tanks.

After that, Russian troops attempted to break through with armored groups from Vodyane and Krasnohorivka to complete the encirclement around the city.

It is known that Russia involved the 114th Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 9th Marine Regiment, and the 10th Tank Regiment in the offensive. Those units were previously part of the so-called DPR 1st Army Corps and have been fighting in the Donetsk direction for a long time.

Units of the 20th Motorized Rifle Division of the Russian Federation and units of Storm-Z from mobilized Russian prisoners were also involved in the assault.

Russian advancing forces were organized into convoys of dozens of units of various armored vehicles and tanks, accompanied by hundreds of infantry trying to break through the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

However, during the offensive, the Russian military suffered serious losses in armored vehicles and personnel. In a few days, they lost more than sixty pieces of equipment.

During the repulse of this attack, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the first Russian BTR-50 near Avdiivka, which was also near the damaged Т-64BV tank of the invasion forces. Militarnyi reported on the transfer of BTR-50 by Russians to the frontline in February 2023.

Almost all equipment was destroyed on October 10–12 on the northern front of the Avdiivka ledge in the area of Krasnohorivka and at the entrance to the village.

Most of the armored vehicles that supported the Russian offensive were hit on the approaches to the terricone on the north-west near Avdiivka or during the movement of convoys on the roads. The Ukrainian military destroyed Russian equipment with artillery and FPV drones.

The Russian invaders also lost Soviet MT-LB tracked tractors that were DIY converted for infantry transportation.

Having accumulated a significant advantage in artillery and armored vehicles, the Russian military planned to take control under the terricone, acting as a dominant height over this area.

After unsuccessful attacks, Russian troops slightly changed their tactics. They decided to reduce the use of armored vehicles, instead increasing the quantity of small groups of infantry.

“(The enemy – ed.) began to use less armored vehicles, more began to go on infantry assaults. During these assaults, the enemy uses a small number of personnel – from two to three sections,” said Anton Kotsukon, Spokesman of the 110th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on October 18.

These assaults take place every day. Shelling is carried out with tanks, artillery, mortars, helicopters, and Russian aircraft are also bombing.

The enemy wants to completely surround the city by advancing from the southwest and northwest directions.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Russians are preparing for new assaults. They are regrouping their forces, accumulating ammunition, and pulling up armored vehicles and equipment. On Thursday, October 19, the degree of combat between the Ukrainian forces and the Russian invaders began to rise again.

Subtotal

As of mid-October 2023, fierce battles for Avdiivka continue day and night. Ukrainian defenders are inflicting heavy losses on the advancing Russians. But the Defense Forces of Ukraine are also suffering losses. For military and propaganda purposes, Russians need to capture or surround the Avdiivka group in order to move the front line away from Donetsk and show their population at least some kind of “victory” in order to raise morale and show their “military power.”

It is important for Ukrainian forces to keep Avdiivka, which is the “gateway” to Donetsk, when the time comes for its liberation from the invaders. The positions in the area of Avdiivka also allow the use of long-range weapons and artillery on the Russian rear in the Donetsk region. This creates problems for them and forces them to keep the warehouses and locations of personnel and equipment repair away from the front line.