“It isn’t but totally clear whether or not the enemy, lined from two sides by Avdiivka coke, is surrendering or not,” stated Podolyak. “On the whole the scenario is already clear – in the end we’ll take it. Since with out this, it’s pointless to proceed strategically advancing right here.”
Each Russian and Ukrainian officers say the battle for Avdiivka value many hundreds of lives, although neither facet has given any casualty figures.
The West routinely provides estimates of Russian casualties within the struggle however not often speaks about Ukrainian casualties which Moscow says are huge. Western intelligence assessments say lots of of hundreds of males on either side have been killed or wounded within the struggle.
Avdiivka is the important thing to Russia’s goal of securing full management of the 2 japanese “Donbas” provinces – Donetsk and Luhansk. These are among the many 4 Ukrainian areas Russia says it has annexed however doesn’t totally management.
Avdiivka is seen as a gateway to Donetsk metropolis, whose residential areas Russian officers say have been shelled by Ukrainian forces, generally from Avdiivka.
The New York Occasions reported that there had been chaotic scenes as Ukrainian forces retreated, with a few of their wounded deserted and troopers starved of ammunition.
Russian forces management a bit beneath one-fifth of Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory. Within the month to Feb 13, Russian forces added 35 sq. miles of territory whereas Ukraine added only one sq. mile, in accordance with the Belfer Middle’s Russia-Ukraine Struggle Report Card.
