Kremlin ready to accept heavy losses for marginal territorial gains in Ukraine, UK intel reports
Over the past three weeks, Russia has likely lost around 200 armored vehicles during its assaults on the Donbass town of Avdiivka, reads the latest UK Defense Intelligence report on Ukraine, published on Nov. 4.
Russia’s extremely high equipment losses are due to a combination of the relative effectiveness of Ukraine’s modern hand-held anti-armor weapons, mines, drone-dropped munitions, and precision artillery systems, the report said.
In response, Russian forces have highly likely switched to conducting dismounted infantry-based assaults in this sector. Ukrainian forces faced similar tactical challenges as the attacking force over the summer.
Read also: Russia aims to capture Avdiivka by year’s end — Estonian intelligence
Like the previous Russian offensive, the Avdiivka assaults have often been characterized by advances across open ground, leading to high losses. It is plausible that Russia has suffered several thousand personnel casualties around the town since the start of October 2023, UK Defense Intelligence believes.
It said Russia’s leadership continues to demonstrate a willingness to accept heavy personnel losses for marginal territorial gains.
Russia’s offensive on Avdiivka — What is known
Russian troops intensified their offensive on Avdiivka on Oct. 10, launching massive attacks on the Donbas town.
The head of Avdiiivka’s military administration, Vitaliy Barabash, said that Oct. 10 saw “probably the largest attack on the city in the entire full-scale war,” but the situation was under control. The Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the Russian military wants to surround Avdiivka, and is throwing a large amount of equipment and personnel into battle.
Read also: Russian forces keep trying to encircle Avdiivka, attack civilians behind lines with drones, missiles
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian troops are holding their positions near Avdiivka.
On Oct. 20, the head of Avdiivka’s military administration, Vitaliy Barabash, said that Russian troops had launched a new wave of assaults. The situation remains complicated.
Since the beginning of the Russian offensive on Avdiivka, the losses of the occupation forces in Donetsk Oblast amounted to 6,500 soldiers, the spokesman of the joint press center of the Tavria Defense Forces, Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, has said.
Russian invasion forces have eased their attacks on Avdiivka to replace their losses and regroup, Oleksandr Shtupun, Tavria front defense forces spokesperson, said on national television on Nov. 2.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
