This Ukrainian industrial city, located on the front line since 2014, is the scene of violent fighting. The Russian army has launched an offensive there for several weeks to conquer it.
As winter approaches and the Ukrainian counter-offensive stalls, the Russian army launched a surprise assault on October 10 to capture the town of Avdiïvka, located about fifteen kilometers north of Donetsk. But in this region of Donbass, in the east of the country, Moscow’s troops are progressing slowly and encountering strong Ukrainian resistance. kyiv claims to have repelled Russian attacks. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about this offensive led by Moscow.
Moscow wants to take control
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which monitors developments on the front on a daily basis, the Russian army launched a major offensive on October 10. “Geolocated images (…) confirm that Russian troops advanced to the southwest, near Sieverne, and to the northwest of Avdiïvka, near Stepove”assure ISW analysts in their note of October 11.
For former general Dominique Trinquand, an expert in international relations interviewed on franceinfo, these Russian maneuvers on two axes aim to encircle the city and its defenders. According to him, the capture of this industrial city would allow the Russians “to remove the threat of Ukrainian artillery from Donetsk”. “This is probably the most significant offensive operation carried out by Russia since at least January 2023”also analyzes the British Ministry of Defense, on October 17, in a press release published on X (formerly Twitter).
The city has been disputed since 2014
For Moscow, it is also about winning a symbolic victory. This assault on the city comes after four months of a difficult Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east and south of the country. “The Russian conquest of Avdiïvka would serve a double narrative by saying: ‘The Ukrainians failed in their counter-offensive and we succeeded where we failed in 2014’”explains Dominique Trinquand.
Indeed, in 2014, at the start of the Donbass war, pro-Russian separatists, supported by the Kremlin, briefly took control of Avdiïvka. They were chased out by Ukrainian forces a few weeks later.
Since then, the town, built around a huge coking plant, has been on the front line. The fighting pushed most of the population into exodus. According to the town hall, only 1,600 inhabitants still live in Avdiïvka compared to 30,000 before the war.
kyiv defends its positions staunchly
President Volodymyr Zelensky recognized a delicate situation on Sunday evening. “The areas of Avdiïvka and Marinka are particularly difficult. Numerous attacks have been carried out by the Russians. But our positions are protected”, he clarified. Two days earlier, the Ukrainian army claimed to have repelled a new Russian assault. “The enemy has repeated its attacks and is not abandoning its attempts to surround Avdiivka”declared the general staff on Facebook.
In its October 20 report on the evolution of the front line, the Institute for the Study of War estimated that Russian forces continued to tighten their grip on the city. According to the non-governmental organization based in the United States, Moscow’s troops managed to gain ground and obtain territorial advances “minors” north of Avdiïvka.
Visiting on October 19, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valery Zalouzhny detailed the means used by the Russian army in this area: “The enemy actively uses assault units, launches a large number of armored vehicles and resorts to aviation and artillery”.
Russia suffered heavy losses
Despite a significant mobilization of resources, the Russian army found itself in difficulty and each advance came at the cost of heavy losses. In its morning report of October 20, the Ukrainian army general staff stated that the Russian army had lost approximately 900 men – killed or wounded – and 150 armored vehicles in twenty-four hours. No estimates regarding Ukrainian losses have been communicated by either Russian or local authorities.
These losses did not discourage the Russian general staff. According to the ISW, in its note of October 22, new Russian units are transferred to the Adviïvka front, “despite the persistent difficulties linked to the frontal mechanized assaults and the failure of the thrust of October 19 and 20”.