Defenders of Avdijivka promise to stick to the end: “Russians are idiots, but they are better prepared”

For more than two months, the Russian army has been making every effort to capture the town of Avdiyivka in eastern Ukraine. According to the head of his military administration, the Russians organized as many as three waves of attack: first, they launched a mass frontal attack, then they sent armored columns in various directions and tried to surround the Ukrainians, and during the third, they sent small groups of infantry to the positions of Ukrainian soldiers.

“Lots of bodies around. They are trying to move forward. We kill them. They are sending more,” said Ivan Smaha, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 25th Assault Battalion defending Avdijivka. – At first it was groups of 10 men. Now it’s one, two or three without support. Their commander uses them as living meat.”

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Telegram/Ukrainian soldier

The soldier revealed that the Russians use a wide variety of survival methods. Some crawl across the frozen ground, others dig holes, there are those who pretend to be dead and lie down for hours next to the bodies of their dead comrades.

“We are watching them. They lie under warm bodies. Finally, get up, move. Ukrainian drones and artillery repel them,” said I. Smaha.

Avdijivka has been on the front line for almost a decade. in 2014 in the spring, Russia staged a military takeover of Donetsk, the regional capital, a 20-minute drive away. After that, the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in a battle with the Russian army in the industrial zone.

Ukrainian soldier: We have enough to defend against an attack. But if they keep flowing, we’re going to need a lot more.

In the first weeks of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion launched last year, Russian troops seized much of southern and eastern Ukraine. However, it failed to capture Avdiyivka, where the Ukrainian armed forces had installed huge fortifications and underground command posts.

This city, from Moscow’s point of view, is simply an anomaly – a cape surrounded on three sides by Russian-controlled territories, noted The Guardian.

For now, his defenders, the Ukrainians, are holding on.

Russians may be “idiots”, but they have “everything more”, lamented Ukrainian soldier I. Smaha.

He said that the Russians had gathered 40,000 soldiers near Avdijivka. soldiers, many tanks, Soviet-era combat vehicles and howitzers.

“We have enough to defend against an attack. But if they continue to flow, we will need a lot more,” he said.

Reuters/Scanpix/Ukrainian soldiers near Avdijivka

Smaha said that Ukraine urgently needs an air force to counter Russian fighter jets dropping 500 kg Fab bombs.

The Guardian said that less than two weeks ago, the Russians captured Promka, an industrial area on the southeastern edge of the city, while fierce fighting continued in the northwestern village of Stepovye.

In the latest review, experts from the Institute of Military Research (ISW) confirmed that geo-location material shows that Russian forces have made some progress near Avdiyivka, are continuing their offensive on the Steppe and are advancing along the railway line.

In addition, Russian troops have targeted the Avdijivka coke and chemical plant, but have so far failed to capture it.

“The factory is ours,” said military man I.Smaha. “Not a single Russian soldier got inside.”

Built 60 years ago, this sprawling factory employed 4,000 people. It also has an underground nuclear bunker. The last few civilian workers who kept the generators running have left.

VIDEO: A fierce battle continues near Avdijivka

A former factory worker told The Guardian that the factory had long been a target.

in 2015 it was damaged when the Russians fired three Grad missiles at the workshop.

“It was like an earthquake. There were flames and dust,” the machine operator recalled.

Reuters/Scanpix/Ukrainian soldiers in Avdijivka

The woman said that the factory was closed last year.

What is happening in Avdijivka has a huge symbolic value, The Guardian estimated.

“For the Kremlin, its capture would strengthen V. Putin’s campaign before March. the upcoming elections, when he will seek the presidency for the fifth time. Recent Russian attacks across the eastern front, including around the city of Bakhmut, appear to be driven not only by military logic, but also by politics and narrative-building. The message: Russia wins and Ukraine loses,” the article reads.

Not everyone has a place to retreat

Avdijivka itself, where 25 thousand people once lived. people turned into ruins. Russian warplanes and weapons destroyed residential buildings, hospitals, schools, three shopping malls and all five churches.

“They are constantly shooting,” said one of the residents, Vitalikas Santakov. The city has been without electricity, water and gas for several months.

The widow told reporters that she had recently been collecting rainwater to cook in the war-torn city, and sleeping with her clothes on when it snowed and the temperature was low.

Incredibly, 1,200 people still live in the town. Most of them are elderly.

“I was the last person left in a block of five-story houses. I didn’t sleep in the basement, because it was cold and full of mice, – said V. Santakovas. – My apartment was blown up. I moved to a neighbor’s apartment. The windows were broken. Then I moved to third.”

Later, Ukrainian volunteers evacuated V.Santakov. The man said he was being transported along the only road in the town, which is used by the Ukrainian military, and that the Russians are constantly monitoring him with drones.

“We left in a convoy. I saw two explosions right in front of us. We stopped and then continued,” he said.

Vitalik is currently living in a temporary accommodation center for displaced persons in the Donbas city of Pokrovsk, 40 km from the front line.

Reuters/Scanpix/Resident of Avdijivka

Some of the other residents of Avdijivka said they had nowhere to go. Tamara Tamakova, a widow, told The Guardian reporters that in the recent war-torn city, she collected rainwater to cook food, and slept with her clothes on when it was snowing and at low temperatures.

It is unclear how long Avdijivka will remain a Ukrainian city. The topic of leaving Avdijivka is not discussed, at least not publicly.

“In the bitter winter, soldiers stand in icy ditches, warming themselves with homemade cans of paraffin lit by a candle. Explosions are constantly heard,” The Guardian journalists who visited the front line write.

At the end of the conversation, Ukrainian soldier I.Smaha told them: “We will hold on until the end.”

“If the West does not support us, Moscow will try to seize Kyiv again like in 2022. And then it will continue,” he added.