NYT: The advance of the Russian army near Avdiivka is losing momentum

NYT: The advance of the Russian army near Avdiivka is losing momentum

The pace of advance of the army of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region is slowing down after rapid successes, when the enemy managed to capture the city itself and several settlements around it. There are several reasons for this development, military experts say. In particular, terrain that is not conducive to offensive operations plays a significant role.

According to The New York Times, the Russians now have to carry out assault operations in open fields “with little cover.”

Three weeks ago Avdiivka came under the control of Russian troops, Ukraine and its allies feared that Moscow’s troops would be able to increase their momentum and quickly advance towards strategic military nodes and population centers. At the same time, after rapid success, the Russian offensive stalled in the following days.

"Immediately after the fall of Avdiivka in mid-February, Russia advanced rapidly, partly due to the lack of strong defensive positions in Ukraine. According to open-source battlefield maps, Russian troops captured three settlements. However, over the past 10 days, Moscow has seized just over a square mile of land, with its soldiers engaged in fighting in the vicinity of the villages of Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonenke," the newspaper writes.

Russia maintains its initiative on the battlefield and military analysts say its forces could still break through Ukrainian lines in the near future, especially as Kyiv’s defense efforts are increasingly constrained by a lack of further military assistance from the United States.

However, they said, fighting appeared to have reverted to the type of inconclusive encounter fighting that characterized much of the front-line fighting last year. Military experts cite several factors, including terrain that is not conducive to offensive operations, the depletion of Russian troops after months of fighting, and the Ukrainian army, which has committed significant forces to defend the area.

"Russian forces appear to be trying to advance using small infantry assault groups, but they are being destroyed in relatively open terrain west of Avdiivka," said Pasi Paroinen, an analyst at Black Bird Group.

So, while Russian troops attack Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonenke across open fields, Ukrainian units hold the heights, which helps them eliminate the approaching invaders.

It should also be taken into account that the Russian troops that survived the capture of Avdiivka are exhausted by months of heavy fighting.

At the same time, Ukraine has sent significant forces to defend the area. The NYT writes that Kyiv has sent some of its best troops and weapons west of Avdiivka. In particular, we are talking about the 47th Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Magura".

The Ukrainian army “uses all possible weapons” to fight the occupiers near Avdiivka, said the head of the public research group of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, Serhiy Kuzan.

“The capture of Avdiivka did not lead to the fall of the Ukrainian defense lines, did not give the Russians the opportunity to enter open territory or even achieve great success. There was no decisive action or breakthrough (on the part of the Russian troops - Ed.),” stated Thibault Fouillet, deputy director of the Institute of Strategic and US Defence Research, part of the French Research Center.

If Russian troops eventually capture the three villages, it is unclear what their next steps will be, given that the terrain is hilly and dotted with streams and reservoirs, making further advances difficult.

Military Serhiy Tsekhotskyi, officer of the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade named after. Yakov Handzyuk, during the telethon, agreed with the conclusions of The New York Times analysts, who stated that the advance of Russian troops was losing momentum.

According to him, the fact that the Russian offensive floundered was influenced by the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces units defending this section of the front received ammunition.

“The advantage of the Russians is to attack like thieves when no one expects it. But when they meet an enemy on the battlefield who can fight back, something else begins to play for them,” the military man said.

He says that both the interrogation of Russian soldiers captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the interception of conversations of the occupiers indicate an extremely low moral and psychological state in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces in the Avdii

ka direction.

“This cannot but make us happy. It gives us the mood and confidence that we are doing our job correctly and will continue to do so,” the officer added.