“We will stand until the end”: a military man spoke about the fierce battles for Avdiivka
Date: 2023-12-15 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
For two months now, Russian occupation forces have been trying to capture Avdeevka, Donetsk region. The Russians began their attempts with a massive frontal assault. Now - during the third wave - small groups of Russian infantry are trying to penetrate Ukrainian positions.
“There are dozens of bodies here. They are trying to advance. We are killing them. They are sending more. Initially, these were groups of 10 people. Now it is one, two, three without support. The commander uses them like live meat,” the deputy commander told The Guardian 25th assault battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which defends Avdievka, Ivan Smaga.
According to him, the Russians use different methods - some crawled on the icy ground. Others dug holes “like mice.” Several invaders pretended to be dead, lying for hours next to the corpses of their fallen comrades.
"We watch them. They lie under warm bodies. Eventually they rise, move," Smaga explained.
Avdiivka has been on the front line for almost a decade, since Russia occupied Donetsk in 2014. From Avdeevka to the regional center it is only a 20-minute drive. After launching a full-scale invasion, the Russians were never able to capture this city, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces built large fortifications and underground command posts. So far the defenders of Avdiivka are holding out, the publication writes.
Ivan Smaga emphasized that although Russians may be idiots, they have more resources. On the Avdeevsky salient, the enemy had amassed 40,000 troops, tanks, Soviet-era MT-LB armored vehicles and 152mm howitzers.
"We have enough to defend against an attack. But if they continue to advance, we will need a lot more," the deputy commander said, admitting that his unit has been receiving less ammunition since the end of the summer.
Journalists note that ten days ago the Russians captured the promka, an industrial zone on the southeastern outskirts of the city. In the north-west there are fierce battles in the village of Stepnoye. In addition, Russian troops carried out a series of raids on the Avdeevsky coke plant. They captured an important waste heap, raising the Russian tricolor there, but have not yet been able to break through the perimeter fence.
“The plant is ours. Not a single Russian soldier got inside,” Ivan Smaga emphasized.
After nearly two years of full-scale war, Ukrainian officers say they have no choice but to keep fighting.
"Putin doesn't want negotiations. And neither do we. Many of our guys died. They paid a huge price. If we stop now, then for what? We are not worried about Russia's superiority in infantry. There are 140 million of them. We are worried about the fact that they have more weapons ", explained an officer named Yuri Zubchak.
How long Avdiivka will remain under the control of Ukrainian troops is unknown, journalists write. The topic of the defenders leaving Avdiivka is not discussed, at least publicly.
“We will stand until the end. If the West does not support us, Moscow will again try to capture Kyiv, as in 2022. And it will continue to do so,” concluded Ivan Smaga.
