Kyiv: Russian troops intensify ground assaults in Avdiivka and Novomykhailivka, scale back air strikes in Donetsk region
Russian forces focus on assaults in Avdiivka and Novomykhailivka in the Marinka direction, attacking almost without the use of heavy machinery, said Colonel Alexander Shtupun, spokesperson for the Joint Press Center of the Tavriya Defense Forces, during a national news broadcast.
According to Colonel Shtupun, the Russians did not carry out any air strikes yesterday but launched three missile strikes using S-300 air defense systems against the Donetsk region, and they continue to actively use artillery. Before this, Russian forces had been using aircraft for a week.
Colonel Shtupun suggested that the reduced air attacks by the Russians could be due to a need for aircraft maintenance, difficulties with ammunition supply, or weather conditions.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 103 combat engagements along the front.
Fierce fighting continues near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, with Russian troops starting to enter the outskirts of the city, reported on his Telegram channel a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a volunteer of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion Aidar, Stanislav Bunyatov, with the call sign Osman.
"There's real pushing and shoving going on, sometimes the invaders enter the residential area, sometimes they’re driven out. We cannot rely on stable information in this direction. But let's be honest, everyone understood that Avdiivka would eventually become the next Bakhmut, with such intensity of continuous pressure we can only continue to eliminate them, and after they've smashed one position, move to the defense of another," he explained.
Bunyatov noted that to carry out assault operations while the enemy is also doing so means death for any group, and in urban combat, it’s the side with more artillery and infantry that prevails.
"Digging in among rubble means consistently high losses. We can't afford that. So even in the summer, when there was a chance to enter Bakhmut, we didn’t take it but instead tried to maneuver around the flanks," clarified Stanislav Bunyatov.