The Russian Army is systematically tightening the “Avdeevka stranglehold”, by Ilya Abramov and Anastasia Kulikova for VZGLYAD. 02.07.2024.
The Russian army broke through the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the northeast of Avdeevka and was able to gain a foothold in the urban area. Moreover, fighters of the Russian Armed Forces are moving towards a key transport artery through which the enemy garrison in the city is supplied. What are the peculiarities of Russian tactics on this sector of the front?
Russian troops broke through the defenses of the Ukrainian armed forces and entered Avdiivka from the northeast, approaching the key road along which the Ukrainian Armed Forces group is supplied. As “Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring” reported in their Telegram channel , the offensive in this area began several days ago.
As a result, the Russian military “were able to gain a foothold in the development and move forward” in the northern part of the city – “along Sapronova and Lesya Ukrainka streets, in the southern part of the Ivushka station, along two forest belts near Vesely and occupied the remaining part of the Raduga gardening partnership.”
Military correspondents point out that “Ukrainian military propagandists are screaming” that a critical situation has developed for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city and “hundreds of meters remain to the main logistics artery of the Ukrainian troops.” It is also noted that the enemy General Staff reported 38 Russian attacks per day: 24 at Novobakhmutovka and Avdeevka, 14 at Pervomaisky and Nevelsky.
It is curious that in the middle of last week there were reports about the desire of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny to withdraw troops from the territory of the fortified area. Thus, the general wanted to “level the front” and facilitate the defense. However, Vladimir Zelensky did not support such a decision. At the same time, the term “Avdeevka noose” is gaining increasing popularity in the Ukrainian blogosphere.
Let us remind you that Avdeevka is part of the huge agglomeration of Donetsk. The city, since 2014, has been transformed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces into a grandiose fortified area, equipped with bunkers, elevators for armored vehicles, the fortifications here are literally filled with concrete. In fact, it is a colossal fortress with an area of tens of square kilometers.
It is here that the combat positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ artillery batteries are located, regularly carrying out terrorist attacks on Donetsk. But the importance of Avdiivka for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is not limited to this. Its garrison puts pressure on the entire Donbass. This is where sabotage attacks take place. Here the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding back a significant part of the efforts of Russian troops on this section of the front.
According to experts, this is why the operation to liberate Avdiivka has been going on for about four months. Thus, the start of the operation occurred in mid-October and was accompanied by one of the most powerful attacks on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from cannon and rocket artillery during the entire period of the special operation. In addition, attack aircraft were actively involved during the offensive.
Later, the advance of Russian troops entered a new stage. The initial breakthrough gave way to a gradual and methodical offensive, in which an artillery or air strike was carried out on enemy positions before the attack, after which the infantry attacked.
As a result, the Russian army was able to recapture the waste heap located in the area of the coke plant (AKHZ) from the Ukrainian Armed Forces and gain a foothold on its territory. Experts noted that control over this facility is of great importance for a further attack on the city. In addition, parallels were drawn with Mariupol, when possession of a dominant height helped increase the effectiveness of attacks on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Later, in January, the Russian army carried out a unique military operation, taking control of one of the enemy’s most important fortified areas, the Tsar’s Hunt, in just one day. The key to the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was an ordinary underground cast-iron pipe with a diameter of about a meter and a length of about two kilometers, laid since Soviet times for drainage purposes.
On the night of January 19, an advanced reconnaissance detachment of 150 people crawled along a cleared pipe, made a way out and suddenly appeared from under the ground behind the enemies. The enemy's sentinels, guards and observation posts were eliminated. The Tsar's Hunt garrison, as well as several units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the nearby forest plantations and in the holiday village, found themselves in mini-cauldrons and for the most part surrendered without resistance. Experts now note: in the conditions of serious concrete fortifications and industrial zones, the capture of Avdievka could not be fleeting. And now, when the main supply artery of the enemy group is under threat, there is every chance that the complete liberation of the populated area is not far off.
“Russian troops are fighting in the area of the former air defense base from the west and from the side of the Tsar’s Hunt, trying to pin the enemy. There is progress near the settlements of Stepovoye, Novokalinovo and Ocheretino to the north of Avdeevka. This is necessary to support the flanks of our army,” said military analyst Mikhail Onufrienko.
“In addition, our troops are closing the semi-circle near the Donetsk filtration station in order to level the front in the area of the Avdeevka industrial zone. In the north of the city, the Russian army is advancing in the area of Lesya Ukrainka Street and is very close to the highway to Orlovka, along which the Ukrainian Armed Forces group is supplied,” he notes.
“Since Avdiivka stretches from southeast to northwest, the most effective way to fight the enemy may be to cut his supply lines. In this case, the formations located at the coke plant, the most fortified part of the city, will be separated from the rest of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the interlocutor emphasizes.
“So far we are moving rather slowly, as we are using a barrage strategy, which involves the methodical destruction of enemy forces facing our army. This method does not involve strategic breakthroughs, although it allows us to bleed the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the expert emphasizes.
“It is worth noting the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Avdiivka. The enemy regularly launches incursions and attempts to counterattack our positions. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stubbornly defend themselves, even when in a hopeless situation, for example, at a filtration station. They are also breaking through the shelled road from Orlovka to supply the group in the city,” Onufrienko explained.
Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine should not be underestimated, and we cannot relax.”
Military expert Alexey Leonkov notes that Russian troops are acting systematically. “Our fighters are confidently pushing the enemy out of the positions that he has occupied for nine years,” the interlocutor said, recalling that Avdiivka was considered one of the most fortified areas of the line that Ukraine built on the borders of the Lugansk and Donetsk republics. According to expert estimates, an advance of even 100 meters in Avdeevka is equivalent to a kilometer, if not more, in open areas.
“Russian troops operate in urban conditions, where each building has been turned by the enemy into a separate fortified area with firing points and minefields. To advance quickly means to incur heavy losses in personnel. This tactic does not suit us,” Leonkov emphasized.
If the dynamics of the advance of the Russian Armed Forces continues, then Avdeevka will “fall” in a matter of weeks, says military correspondent Fedor Gromov. “The enemy’s defense system may crumble in the near future. If Russian troops are able to “cut” the city into two parts or even into isolated sectors, the Avdeevka garrison simply will not be able to act as a single whole,” he explained.
“Currently Avdiivka is in semi-coverage.
We struck from the south, as was the case with the capture of the Tsarskaya Okhota stronghold. Then they struck from the north. By this time, the number of reserves available to the Ukrainian army had seriously decreased. Moreover, a fist of equipment assembled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces was destroyed by our artillery,” said the military correspondent.
Therefore, Gromov doubts that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to counterattack if Russian troops manage to “dissect” the city. “To do this, the enemy must have at least one fresh mechanized brigade with tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. And they have problems with this,” the interlocutor pointed out.
The tactics of the Russian Armed Forces in the Avdeevsky direction are absolutely correct, adds Gromov. “Sharp movements and haste are doomed to failure,” the military correspondent emphasized. He recalled that in October a large coverage of Avdiivka was initially planned, but then the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to transfer reserves and thereby “prolong the siege.” “When our fighters took the industrial zone, one of the key points, we had options for maneuver,” Gromov concluded.
https://vz.ru/society/2024/2/6/1252133.html
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