Operations in the Avdiivka sector continue unabated, despite the fact that the Russians have moved a significant number of forces to other sectors, such as Kupiansk.
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What happened in Avdiivka in the last hours?
In the direction of Avdiivka and according to new Russian reports, Russian units of the Centre force group have taken new vantage points on the battlefield and bloodied concentrations of manpower and equipment of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the 107th Defence Brigade in the area of the Tonenkoye settlement.
In addition, a total of 7 Ukrainian counter-attacks were repelled in the areas of Novgorodtskoye, Lesinkoye, Lastokhin and Novobakhmutovka settlements. This was first reported by the Russian Defence Ministry itself in a briefing on 25 February. During these battles the Ukrainian army is said to have lost up to 100 soldiers, 4 armoured fighting vehicles, 8 wheeled vehicles, a Grad multiple rocket launcher, a D-30 gun and a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station.
At the same time, more and more Ukrainian media are reporting the complete control of Lastokin by the Russian forces, as well as the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Severni due to the lack of logistical support for the Kiev forces there.
In recent hours, social media accounts have suggested that Russian troops have infiltrated the Stepovoye-Petrovskoye-Lastokhin-Severnoye defense line, forcing the Ukrainians to retreat in disorderly fashion. This line is known as the 'Shirsky line'.
Thus, the Ukrainian media write that only the settlement of Tonenkoye stands in the path of the Russian army in the area between Avdiivka and the Vovcha River.
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The commander of the 93rd Brigade of the Ukrainian army said that "the only way to explain why new defensive lines have not yet been built west of Avdiivka is that those responsible for the loss of Avdiivka are still dazed by the melancholy of failure. Be that as it may, the enemy is still advancing and our soldiers are forced to improvise simply to survive on the battlefield."
However, it seems that the Ukrainians do not have the means to build a line of defense similar to the famous Russian "Surovykin Line", which the Russians had used to repel the Ukrainian spring counterattack of 2023. The Ukrainian army's engineering troops could not at this point in time cope with such a request from Kiev's defence ministry, even if Zelensky demanded it.
