The Russian army has occupied Maryinka, Ukraine, a city that has been "fortressed" for almost 10 years, leaving the Ukrainian army on the defensive here. With Maryinka changing hands, Avadiivka could become the next target for the Russian army. However, unlike the easy capture of Maryinka, the Russian army paid a heavy price in the capture of Avadiivka. On October 7, the Russian army launched a new ** campaign against Avadiivka, while the Ukrainian army fell into an extremely weak state due to the "big **" defeat. Although the Ukrainian army stationed in Avadiivka has a large number of troops, including the 53rd Brigade, the 59th Brigade, the 66th Brigade, the 110th Brigade, the 129th Territorial Guard Brigade and the 55th Artillery Brigade, the total number is only about 15,000 people, and many troops lack rest and replenishment due to long-term operations. For example, the 110 Brigade has been fighting in Avadiivka for more than a year, with only more than 2,000 people left, and the drone lacks a large number of spare parts.
Despite the reinforcement of the defense by the National Guard Brigade and the 3rd Assault Brigade, the Ukrainian army is clearly inferior in terms of strength and equipment. In contrast, in order to capture Avadiivka and prepare for the winter offensive, the Russian army carried out complex troop movements, massing powerful mobile corps in the direction of Kupyansk on the northern front. According to foreign media reports, the Russian troops assembled around Avadiivka include the 8th Army, the 2nd Army, and the 41st Army, as well as 15 motorized infantry regiments and 11 motorized infantry regiments. The 1st Donetsk Army Corps undertook the task of the main attack and quickly invested up to 6 brigades to launch the attack, achieving results that exceeded expectations and inflicted a huge amount on the Ukrainian army.
The Russian army has actually taken control of the situation in the whole of Avadiivka, especially the two commanding heights of the "garbage mountain" in the north and the "royal hunting ground" in the south (it is worth mentioning that in order to seize the garbage mountain of "Terikon", the Russian army lost a large number of armored vehicles in the perimeter). However, such a victory came at a heavy cost. According to the statistics of the Ukrainian army, in about a week of fighting between the two sides, the 1st Donetsk Army lost more than 400 armored vehicles of various types here, and on October 10 alone, it lost 34 tanks and more than 70 military vehicles of various types. Although the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army later revised the data, claiming that the loss of the Russian army's armored vehicles in Avadiivka was about 350 vehicles, in fact, due to the inability to control the battlefield, the Ukrainian army had no way to count the losses of the Russian army in detail. They had to exaggerate their record to disguise their passivity in Avadiivka.
Subsequently, when the commanding heights of Avadiivka had been seized by the Russian army, the industrial zone in the south became the control area of the Russian army, and the coking plant in the north was just around the corner, ** counted the losses of the Russian army again, claiming that the Russian army lost 110 tanks, 211 BMP infantry fighting vehicles and 16 BTR armored vehicles, a total of 697 pieces of equipment, and the losses had reached the scale of an armored division. Despite the heavy losses of the Russian army, especially the abandonment of a large number of wreckage of military vehicles around the "garbage mountain", according to the statistics of the Ukrainian army and the West, not only the 1st Donetsk Corps will cease to exist, but even the 8th Army will suffer fatal heavy losses. However, the actual battlefield situation is that the 114th Motorized Infantry Brigade, which the Russian army initially launched an attack on the "garbage mountain", is still fighting on the front line, and even has the spare strength to send the independent 58th Special Operations Battalion to support the operation in the ** Mutt direction.
In stark contrast, the Ukrainian army also suffered heavy losses under the blows of various firepower of the Russian army and the shuttle bombardment of drones. For example, the 59th, 66th and 129th brigades of the Ukrainian army have disappeared from the combat list one after another. At the same time, 169 pieces of equipment, including 28 tanks, 10 BMPs and 15 BTRs, were destroyed, which is probably the last home of the Avadiivka defense unit of the Ukrainian army. The 53 Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Army has only about 50 armored vehicles, and the 110 Mechanized Infantry Brigade is slightly better, equipped with about 27 vehicles, according to the statistics made by ** "militaryland", which has long been concerned about the establishment and equipment of the Ukrainian army. No matter how great the losses of the Ukrainian army are, and regardless of whether the achievements of the Ukrainian army are exaggerated, the losses of the Russian army in Avadiivka are indeed heavy.
However, is it worth it for the Russian army to pay such a heavy price for the sake of this town, which is only more than 20 square kilometers?The answer is yes. Avadiivka is a "fortress city" that the Ukrainian army has been operating for only 10 years and has extremely important symbolic significance, so the capture of Avadiivka can seriously hit the morale of the Ukrainian army. In addition to its symbolic significance, Avadiivka has an extremely important practical significance for the Russian army. Avadiivka is located just 20 kilometers from the city of Donetsk, the capital of Donetsk Oblast, and the Ukrainian army regularly uses this to shell the city. If Russian troops capture Avadiivka, this threat will be completely eliminated. In addition, on the Donbass defense line of the Ukrainian army, Maryinka and Avadiivka should actually be considered as one defense system.
The Russian army is attacking Avadiivka with all its might, leaving the Ukrainian army unable to hold on to Maryinka. With Maryinka captured by Russian troops, how long will Avadiivka, which has lost the protection of its flanks, hold out?If the Russian army completely captures Avadiivka and Maryinka, then it will be directed at Kurahowe and the Red Army city behind it. In other words, the Red Army City, an important logistical supply base of the Ukrainian army in the eastern Ukrainian region, will be attacked by the Russian army at any time, which will put the Ukrainian army in extreme danger throughout the eastern Ukrainian region.