Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 16 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian military announced on the 15th that it had sent reinforcements from the 3rd Independent Assault Brigade to Avdeyevka, a key town in the Donetsk region besieged by Russian forces on three sides. The reserve said the situation on the battlefield was "extremely serious."
Dmytro Likhovy, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, said in a televised address that the military was "pulling back some units from Avdeyevka to more advantageous positions" while committing the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade as a reserve.
This is a view of the Dnieper River after snow in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 22, 2023. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Peter Drucker) The Russian army has stepped up its offensive in recent times, and the position of the Ukrainian army in Avdeyevka is critical. On social **, some Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers said that the Russian army has cut off a major logistics transportation line for the Ukrainian defenders.
Lihovi admitted that the task of delivering supplies to the defenders of Avdeyevka and evacuating the remaining few hundred civilians from the city was "very difficult." He said the military had opened a "backup logistics road" that had been prepared in advance.
The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Army confirmed on social ** "Telegram" that the unit is urgently deployed to Avdeyevka to reinforce the defenders. At present, the war situation is "extremely severe", "sinister" and "volatile", and the Russian army is continuing to rotate the troops participating in the battle in Avdeyevka, investing new troops and equipment.
According to the ministry, it has launched ** in some urban areas, causing a large number of casualties to the Russian army. Russian officials did not respond to this statement. Some Russian military bloggers say that Ukrainian army reserves are trying to slow down the advance of Russian troops.
Vehicles pass by Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Dongxu The 3rd Independent Assault Brigade is one of the ace units of the Ukrainian army, which participated in the battle of **Mut (called Artyomovsk in Russian) that lasted for more than 9 months and was unsuccessful last summer**. Deputy brigade commander Maxim Jolin told Reuters that the battle for Avdeyevka was much more intense than that of Mutt, and the Ukrainian army was at a disadvantage in terms of strength and firepower.
John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the U.S. Committee, quoted Ukraine as reporting at a White House press conference on the 15th that "Avdeyevka is at risk of falling under Russian control."
After listening to the report of the top military on the same day, Ukraine** Volodymyr Zelensky said in a night televised speech that Ukraine is making every effort to provide support to the defenders of Avdeyevka.
Avdeyevka, located less than 10 kilometers north of the city of Donetsk, the capital of the Donetsk region, is one of the main positions of the Ukrainian army in launching artillery strikes on the city of Donetsk. Russian forces have been attacking the industrial town since October last year.
This is a corner of NATO headquarters photographed in Brussels, Belgium, on February 15. The one-day meeting of defense ministers of NATO member states ended in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on 15 July. The meeting discussed issues such as strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense, as well as support for Ukraine. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Dingzhe Lihovi said that the Russian army has concentrated about 50,000 troops to attack Avdeyevka and invested more and more battalion-level tactical groups.
Agence France-Presse reported that the battle between Russia and Ukraine over this place is one of the bloodiest battles in the nearly two years since the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. If the Russian army captures Avdeyevka, it will be the biggest gain on the territory of the Russian side since it seized **mut in May last year.
According to Reuters, the capture of Avdeyevka is crucial for the Russian side to take full control of the Donbas region. Donbass mainly consists of two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
In Ukrainian-controlled Kramatorsk, another major industrial town in the Donetsk region, a Ukrainian soldier returning to the front line from a rear hospital revealed widespread concerns on the front line: lack of ammunition, lack of rotation and exhaustion of troops.
At this moment, we are losing the battle. The soldier, who asked not to be named, said that the Russian army is launching more offensives, and although the Ukrainian army is still insisting, "these people have been fighting for two years and have long been exhausted." (Hu Ruoyu).