The Ukrainian army withdrew from Avdeyevka on the 17th, and Russia immediately occupied the area, which covers an area of 29 square kilometers and has a population of about 30,000.
The change of ownership of this military town shocked Europe and the United States.
First of all, the geopolitical and military position of Avdeyevka is very important, almost on a par with Mutter. The withdrawal of the Ukrainian side is very likely to bring great changes to the entire situation in eastern Ukraine. This is obviously not what the United States and Western countries want to see.
Avdeyevka is a railway trunk line between Slavyansk-Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka to Donetsk. After a fighting broke out in the Donbas in 2014, the Ukrainian army took over and turned it into an important defense area. Ukrainian troops in the Avdeyevka direction can carry out artillery strikes on and around Donetsk, Makeyevka, Yasinovata. In March this year, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky also came here to visit Ukrainian troops.
Avdeyevka is also a very critical supply channel for Russia, and the capture of Avdeyevka can not only make it more convenient and fast for the army to ensure the supply of a large area ahead, but also allow the people to occupy the entire Udonde tribal region in the next period of time, so that the people can march in the west.
Therefore, since October last year, the tug-of-war between Russia and Ukraine in this military city has become more and more intense.
The Russian military said a few days ago that Russia's occupation of Avdeyevka marks the final defeat of the Ukrainians' counterattack.
The defeat of Ukraine's counterattack is not only a "strategic and symbolic heavy blow" for Ukraine, but also a rather difficult thing for the United States and the West. Due to the delay in the arrival of the United States and Spain, as well as the shortage of arms in Ukraine, the issue of Avdeyevka's change of ownership is regarded as the most important factor.
In response, the U.S. Congress on the 17th sharply condemned the Republican-dominated Congress for delaying support for the Ukrainian army, which made Russia's first major advance in the war in months. US Defense Security Council spokeswoman Adrien Watson said that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdeyevka was caused by the failure of the parliament to pass a bill on aid to Ukraine.
The U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill, much of it to Israeli and Ukrainian troops. However, House of Representatives spokesman, Republican Congressman Johnson, said that the House of Representatives will not vote on the aid bill until Biden has not allocated funds for illegal immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, Johnson will also cancel the vote on the aid bill scheduled for the 16th and extend the Senate for two weeks.
As for the aid to Ukraine, the United States' delay in this regard has made European countries, including Germany and France, feel that the United States is unreliable. At a security meeting in Munich, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz reaffirmed Europe"The strength of independent defense needs to be strengthened"。French Foreign Minister Cejourne said this in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde"Russia won"will deal a powerful blow to Europe.
In particular, the day before the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdeyevka, both Germany and France signed a security agreement with Ukraine. According to the agreement, Germany will provide Ukraine with a total of more than 7 billion euros in aid in 2024, and Germany will support Ukraine throughout the agreement. France will also provide more than 3 billion euros in additional military aid to Ukraine in 2024, as well as assistance in defense industry cooperation, information and training.
From this point, it can be seen that the Russia-Ukraine dispute is actually a strategic game between Russia and the United States, so it is unrealistic for Western countries to completely abandon Ukraine.
A major battle will not be decisive for the whole situation, so the security threats to Ukraine in 2024 may increase, but overall, it will be a strategic stalemate. The Ukrainian side is also aware of this, and only on the 13th, the new commander of the Ukrainian army, Syrsky, who has just been in office for about a week, declared that the Ukrainian army has switched from offensive to defensive.
Defense does not mean that the Ukrainian army can only defend passively, nor can it be passively defended, in some specific places, they will still continue to attack. As an example, the command of the Ukrainian military announced 14 days ago the strike on the Caesar Kunikov, a giant landing ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Recently, the Belgorod Oblast in southern Russia has also been subjected to multiple missile attacks and bombardments by the Ukrainian side.
Moreover, Russia has stepped up its offensive before the elections, and it has no intention of "going all out". Putin has proposed the creation of a "demilitarized zone" in Ukraine until 2024. It is widely believed that this move will create a zone on Ukrainian territory and carry out non-military operations to ease the current tensions.
Therefore, it has been going on for three years between Russia and Ukraine, and it is difficult to draw a clear conclusion at present.