Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka struggled Friday with severe ammunition shortages as Russian forces tightened the noose around the strategic eastern city in an intense Kremlin push for a battlefield win.
The timing is critical as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary on Feb. 24 of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the March presidential election in Russia.
The four-month battle in Avdiivka appeared to be coming to a head as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday made another trip to Europe, hoping to press his country’s Western allies to keep providing military support.
Now is the best time for the EU to join the fight.
Joining the fight now keeps the front in Ukraine. Russia is still amassing the assets it needs for its upcoming EU push, and isn’t quite ready for a full scale war against the EU yet. In two years, Russia will be much more prepared. Strike now and save hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka struggled Friday with severe ammunition shortages as Russian forces tightened the noose around the strategic eastern city in an intense Kremlin push for a battlefield win.
The four-month battle in Avdiivka appeared to be coming to a head as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday made another trip to Europe, hoping to press his country’s Western allies to keep providing military support.
Street fighting was underway in the bombed-out city, where Ukrainian troops are outnumbered 7-to-1, according to Oleksandr Borodin, press officer of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukraine Armed Forces.
Heavily fortified with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy.
Aerial footage of Avdiivka obtained by The Associated Press last December showed an apocalyptic scene and hinted at Russia’s staggering losses, with the bodies of about 150 soldiers — most wearing Russian uniforms — lying scattered along tree lines where they sought cover.
However, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line that has barely budged in recent months.
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