According to the latest TASS news agency, Russia's ** Putin congratulated the Russian military officers and soldiers after listening to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's report on Avdeyevka. Minister Shoigu confirmed that the Russian army has taken full control of the strategic location of Avdeyevka. Although the Ukrainian side did not directly deny this news, the new commander-in-chief, General Alexander Sersky, said that in order to avoid the encirclement of the Ukrainian army, he had to order the withdrawal of troops from Avdeyevka. Ukraine** Zelensky also agrees with this decision, believing that withdrawal is the right choice.
The loss of Avdeyevka is undoubtedly a huge blow to Ukraine. Located less than 10 kilometers north of the city of Donetsk and covering an area of about 30 square kilometers, the city is one of Ukraine's key defenses in the Donbas region. Since October last year, Russian forces have launched a fierce attack on the area, which lasted five months and finally took full control. This also means that the Russian army's control in the Donbas region has been further expanded.
However, for Russia, the capture of Avdeyevka is only a small step in its special military operation. Russia's goal is to liberate the entire Donbas region, which consists of Luhansk and Donetsk. At present, the Russian army has basically controlled the entire Luhansk, and in the Donetsk region, it controls about half of the total area. Nevertheless, the Russian army still has a long way to go to achieve the goal of the complete liberation of Donbass.
It is worth noting that against the backdrop of the suspension of US military assistance to Ukraine, the pace of advance of the Russian army may be affected. However, this does not mean that the Russian army will stop advancing. In fact, as European countries have provided military assistance to Ukraine, the Ukrainian army still has the ability to continue to resist the offensive of the Russian army. In particular, large countries such as Germany and France, whose assistance is not only to support Ukraine, but also to achieve strategic autonomy in Europe.
The motives of Germany and France for providing military assistance to Ukraine are not the same as those of small and medium-sized countries such as Poland. The latter can benefit directly from aid to Ukraine, for example by receiving compensation from the peace ** set up by the European Union, or by getting advanced** through trade-in. Germany and France, on the other hand, are more interested in achieving Europe's strategic autonomy and promoting their own arms expansion and security policy adjustments by exaggerating the theory of the Russian threat.
In this case, regardless of the outcome of the United States ** this year, it is unlikely that the position of European countries on assistance to Ukraine will change. This also means that the Ukrainian army can continue to receive the best ammunition and financial support from Europe, so as to continue to confront the Russian army. This also explains why it took months for the Russian army to achieve victory in the battles of Mut and Avdeyevka, among others. Although Russia has experienced two military expansions, the armed forces have reached 2.2 million, due to frequent military exercises and containment by NATO, the Russian army has limited resources to put into the battlefield in Ukraine. Therefore, it will be difficult for the Russian army to quickly resolve the fighting, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict may last for a long time.
In summary, Avdeyevka's gains and losses are not only related to the direction of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but also reflect the strategic considerations of European countries. In this protracted conflict, all sides are fighting for their own interests and goals. Whatever the end result, however, we want to see peace achieved and peace for the people.