War in Ukraine Russia's offensive towards Avdiivka threatens to become another "meat grinder"

The Russian offensive to take the eastern city of Avdiivka threatens to become another “meat grinder” or a second Bakhmut due to the losses in soldiers and military equipment that Russia assumes to conquer it, and even reminds some of battles on the Eastern Front during the Second World War.

“What is happening around Avdivka can be compared with a series of events that occurred during the Second World War on the Eastern Front or, let’s say, with such a well-known event as the Battle of Rzhev,” military historian Vasyl Pavlov said on the TV channel. Ukrainian television Espresso.

He noted that for almost 14 months in 1942 and 1943 Soviet troops attacked a “small area” in waves and with enormous losses to prevent the advance of Nazi Germany towards Moscow, located about 230 kilometers to the east, in what is known as the “Rzhev meat grinder”.

“We can see the same thing now near Avdiivka: waves of destroyed infantry and equipment, and this is very reminiscent of the events of World War II,” he said.

Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine Mikhailo Podoliak stated on the Dozhd television channel that Russia lost between 5,000 and 6,000 soldiers in just over a week of the offensive in Avdiivka.

Recent Russian assaults on Avdiivka “have contributed to a 90% increase in Russian casualties recorded by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence,” British Military Intelligence said today. According to London, Russia has suffered between 150,000 and 190,000 permanent casualties among fallen and wounded soldiers since the start of the war in February 2022.

Many analysts also compare the battle to the one that lasted ten months to take the city of Bakhmut, about 70 kilometers to the north and another hot spot on the front. At least 20,000 mercenaries fell in Bakhmut, not counting regular soldiers, the deceased head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, acknowledged at the time.

Avdiivka has become a new symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the current Russian war in Ukraine, although it has been so since 2014 when Kiev troops regained control of the city after briefly losing it to pro-Russian separatists. Russian forces have always bombed Avdiivka, but on the 10th they launched an offensive with several brigades, armored vehicles, and tanks.

Soon the first news appeared of several tanks reduced to scrap, which some military observers compared to the failed Russian offensive between last January and February in Vugledar, where Russia lost dozens of combat vehicles.

After regrouping, Russia launched a renewed offensive on the 20th, but the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted today in its daily analysis of the war that “Ukrainian forces are likely to have repelled another Russian offensive effort.” towards Avdivka in recent days and have caused greater losses of personnel and equipment to Russian troops.

Russian forces lost 50 tanks, 100 armored vehicles and 900 soldiers during the attacks on October 19 and the day before they lost 620 soldiers and 34 units of military equipment, according to Ukraine.

“Due to the heavy losses, Russia is sending new soldiers directly from its territory,” who also resort to the tactic of digging tunnels to get closer to the Ukrainian positions, according to Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for the Tavria strategic operational group, in charge of the southeastern zone. from the front.

Despite all the Ukrainian resistance, geolocated images published on October 21 confirm – according to the ISW – that Russian forces made marginal advances northwest of Avdiivka, in the city’s waste dump area, where some 1,600 people currently reside. compared to 32,000 before the war.

Andri Yusov, representative of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR), pointed out this Sunday that the defense of the city is important to prevent Russian troops from advancing west towards the administrative border of the Donetsk region.

He also stressed that a withdrawal from the city, north of the regional capital of Donetsk, controlled since 2014 by Russia, must be avoided, because then recovering lost positions always costs more. “The price of an offense is always higher if we compare it with defense,” he stressed on the Espresso television channel.