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The Ukrainian Army assured this March 27 that it plans a counterattack to the invading troops in Avdiivka, in the east of the country, after, faced with the resistance of Kiev, Moscow changed the focus of its offensive on Bakhmut and directed it at the city further south in the Donbass, which he describes as “post-apocalyptic”. Meanwhile, the Russian military launched new missile attacks on Sloviansk, killing at least two people.
Ukraine and Russia would shift their military efforts from Bakhmut to Avdiivka, a city in the great Donbass region, in the east of the invaded nation.
The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Monday, March 27, that Kiev plans a next counter-offensive there, after what he described as the decline of Moscow for seizing strategic Bakhmut.
The new city where efforts would be directed lies in ruins with only around 2,000 people left out of a population of around 30,000 before the Russian president ordered war on February 24, 2022.
“It saddens me to say this, but Avdiivka is increasingly becoming a place for post-apocalyptic movies,” Barabash said, urging residents to leave the small town.
Syrskyi remarked that the offensive could come “very soon”, visiting the front-line troops in the east in recent hours and from there noting that his forces are still repelling Russian attacks in Bakhmut.
The defense of the small town in the industrialized Donbas region that Russia has been trying to seize for months was a “military necessity,” he said, after praising the resistance of the local army in “extremely difficult conditions.”
“We are calculating all possible options for the development of events, and we will react appropriately to the current situation,” he stressed.
Although at the beginning of March, the Wagner mercenary group –which has taken the lead in the Russian offensive– stated that they were close to “victory” to take the city, the men of the attacked nation have resisted and aim to push back the invaders.
In recent days, senior Ukrainian military commanders have indicated that the Kremlin troops have lost the momentum to wrest control of Bakhmut, a situation they hope to use as a counterattack.
The Ukrainian Army aims to wear down Russian forces as much as possible before launching its next operation, after nearly 13 months of invasion.
However, the Russian military does not stop launching attacks throughout the country, especially in the east.
“The most intense phase of the battle for Bakhmut continues. The situation is constantly difficult. The enemy suffers significant losses in human resources, weapons and military equipment but continues to carry out offensive actions,” Syrskyi admitted.
His remarks come after the Ukrainian military last week warned that Avdiivka, a smaller town 90km and further south in the region, could become a “second Bakhmut” as Russia turns its attention there.
Both towns have been submerged in intense fighting, some of the bloodiest of the war and leaving numerous victims on both sides of the conflict.
Russian attack in Sloviansk leaves at least two civilians dead
Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, to which Sloviansk belongs, confirmed that at least two people were killed and 29 others injured in the town as a result of an attack by Russian S300 missiles.
“A new day has begun with the terrorism of the Russian Federation. The aggressor state attacked our Sloviansk,” Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky previously noted.
The onslaught targeted several high-rise buildings in the city center that were reduced to rubble and where emergency services rushed to try to find possible victims under the ruins.
“All services are working on site. Assistance is being provided. Debris clearance is ongoing,” the president added.
Other buildings were seriously affected and several vehicles were on fire as a result of the assault.
Zelensky added that “Ukraine will not forgive Russia for its abuse of people, deaths and injuries: all Russian terrorists will be defeated and brought to Justice.”
Since the start of the war, the Donetsk region has been one of the most besieged by the Russians and is part of the four regions annexed by President Vladimir Putin in disputed referendums last September, despite the fact that his troops do not control the entirety. of the zones.
Despite a push from the Wagner-backed Moscow military, the invaders have made no significant progress in recent weeks, kyiv says.
With Reuters and EFE
