Based on Russian defence analyses and updates, in the Avdiivka sector, the Russian army, after heavy artillery fire, continued their attacks from both the northern and southern sides of the city.
A new phase in the siege of this city in eastern Ukraine seems to have begun.
New Siege Stage of Avdiivka
According to the British intelligence service, for another week Avdiivka is hosting the most and fiercest fighting of the entire Russian-Ukrainian front.
Channel on Telegram specifically reports that "Russian armed forces on the southern side of the city broke the defenses of the Ukrainian armed forces north of SNT Vinogradniki and entered the territory of Avdiivka".
Russian armoured vehicle teams are said to have cleared a path for Russian infantry to advance successfully.
But how did the Russians achieve these major successes in a matter of days? Russian media come up with the answer, which is none other than the BMPT-72 tank support vehicles, known as Terminator 2. According to Russian experts, these tanks were instrumental in breaking through Ukrainian defences, along with Russian reconnaissance teams, which operated in complete secrecy and greatly assisted operations by locating critical targets and Ukrainian army observation posts in a timely manner.
The use of these systems in cooperation with Russian scouts was the only feasible option, as the cold weather does not allow the use of Russian (nor Ukrainian) drones. As a result of the speed of action of the Russian army, the Ukrainian armed forces were taken by surprise, as they did not expect an attack by the Russian "Terminators".
By the morning of December 12, the Russian soldiers are said to have expanded the area where the Ukrainian defence line was broken, even reaching Kolosov Street, clearing Ukrainian positions and starting to occupy and fortify them.
CONTINUE READING
Οι νέες ρωσικές πυραυλικές επιθέσεις ήταν μόνο η κορυφή του παγόβουνου-Έρχονται τρομερά κύματα βομβαρδισμών σε Κίεβο και κεντρική Ουκρανία
What the Russians did well was to take advantage of the bad weather conditions, a tactic which they had used in a similar way a few days before, when they had used offensive aircraft to bomb the industrial zone of Avdiivka before a large convoy of Russian armoured vehicles entered it.
Reports suggest that as a result of the recent Russian successes, the Ukrainian army was forced to move back, shifting its main forces to the second line of defense of Avdiivka, leaving only physical obstacles for the Russians.
