Ukraine sends reinforcements to Avdiivka as Russian assaults continue
Units of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stationed in Avdiivka, are facing difficulties in holding the city but are receiving reinforcements from other parts of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said the brigade's public relations head, Ivan Sekach, in an interview with Radio Liberty.
Sekach noted that despite the lack of sufficient resources to hold the city, the brigade has gained support from other units, which has helped to ease the situation. He emphasized that for the first time in two years, some subunits of the brigade had been pulled back from the front line for rest and rotation.
"Indeed, reinforcements have arrived. I won't say which unit. But this is a substantial support. We feel a little more at ease now that it has come," said Sekach.
According to Sekach, fighting continues in Avdiivka and its surroundings, with Russian forces outnumbering the Ukrainians and employing aircraft, as well as experimenting with various battle groups and armored vehicles. Sekach suggests that the Russian army aims to capture Avdiivka before Russia's presidential elections in March of this year.
"They have a full advantage in aviation; that is, we cannot affect the air raids, the bombings of the city, and our positions in any way. They have a huge number of personnel, which they do not spare," Sekach says.
On February 12, the commander of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Dmitry Ryumshin, reported that Russian forces had stopped using "meat grinder" assaults on the Avdiivka front and had switched to the tactic of small assault groups supported by aircraft because they cannot sustain the constant pace of such assaults.
On the same day, BILD analyst Julian Röpcke stated that Russian forces are ever closer to capturing Avdiivka. In his view, this could happen within the coming days or next two weeks.
Also, on February 12, it became known that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had sent reinforcements to Avdiivka, possibly deploying one of Ukraine's best brigades for this purpose. The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade is the only land brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces known for certain to have been in reserve in eastern Ukraine last week.