Fighting for Avdiivka going on: Armed Forces retreat, several soldiers captured
Photo: During the retreat to new positions in Avdiivka, part of the military was captured (Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers maneuver out of the destroyed positions in Avdiivka and secure themselves on new lines of defense. However, some of the soldiers were captured by the Russians, according to the commander of the Tavria operational-strategic group Oleksandr Tarnavskyi.
The course of battles in Avdiivka
"Heavy fighting is going on inside Avdiivka. The enemy continues to fire artillery and massive bombardments, practically erasing the city from the face of the earth," Tarnavskyi wrote.
According to the commander, the enemy is throwing all reserves at the assault, transferring them from other directions, and trying to push through our defenses.
The defense forces of Ukraine continue to hold back the Russian invaders, who are numerically superior in terms of personnel, artillery and aviation.
Since the beginning of the day, our defenders have repelled more than 30 Russian attacks in the Avdiivka area. The aggressor carried out 20 airstrikes and more than one and a half hundred artillery shells. In addition to Avdiivka, almost 20 surrounding settlements, including Novobakhmutivka, Berdychi, Lastochkyne, and Nevelske, were hit by enemy artillery and mortar fire.
Some of the fighters were captured
It is reported that Ukrainian soldiers are maneuvering out of the destroyed positions and entrenching themselves on new lines of defense.
"I emphasize that the priority is to save the lives of our soldiers. Therefore, if necessary, they retreat to new positions. Unfortunately, during one of these withdrawals, several of our soldiers were captured," the commander wrote.
He added that Ukraine would fight for the release of every soldier.
Fire at coke and chemical plant
Tarnavskyi also said that the evacuation of the wounded is complicated by continuous shelling, but it is being carried out. Currently, the necessary reserves are transferred to our defenders.
"The supply of ammunition also remains effective. The units maintain the designated defense lines in accordance with the operational situation," the commander writes.
A fire continues at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, where Russian terrorists set fire to a tank with naphthalene residues and bituminous resin in the warehouse as a result of shelling.
Russian losses
Tarnavskyi explained that to understand the scale of the enemy's offensive, the biggest share of their losses in the Tavria direction falls precisely on Avdiivka.
Only since the beginning of the year, the losses of the occupiers in this direction amounted to 20,018 people, 199 tanks and 481 armored fighting vehicles (January 1 - February 15, 2024).
Battles for Avdiivka
The situation in the Avdiivka area continues to be critical. The Russians threw all their forces into trying to capture the city. They actively use their ground equipment and aviation to storm the positions of Ukrainian defenders.
Meanwhile, the fighters of the Armed Forces continue to hold the defense and actively destroy the enemy. As the Third Separate Assault Brigade said today, their fighters have already neutralized more than four thousand Russian soldiers.
In some places around the city, there are a hundred occupiers for every six of our defenders.
In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, the spokesman of the Tavria operational-strategic group Dmytro Lykhoviy shared more details about the situation around Avdiivka.
