There are no fortified positions on the front line near Avdiivka, and this threatens the lives of those tasked with defending the city, according to the testimony of the Ukrainian military. Independent Kyiv.

Many infantrymen and other soldiers deployed on the front line of defense complained that their positions – often just holes in the ground – seemed ill-prepared for a major Russian offensive on the Avdiivka line. While the Russian troops are constantly attacking, the Ukrainians do not have time to consolidate their positions.

According to the soldiers interviewed by the journalists, the second line of defense a few kilometers behind the front is still under construction.

While Russia continued to strengthen its defenses, even launching a multipronged offensive in the winter, Ukraine appears to have done little to prepare for a prolonged battle of attrition during the summer counteroffensive.

Given the current intensity of Russian attacks on forward positions in Avdiivka, soldiers say they have to make do with what they have.

42-year-old Oleksandr told how in November he and 31-year-old Anatoliy sank into a hole only half a meter deep in a weak defensive position on the front line north of Avdiivka.

Alexander knew that the hole provided them with inadequate protection. Shells fell all around them until one fell nearby.

Anatoly was hit in the back by a shrapnel.

“I wrapped him (in bandages), I did everything (I could),” he added.

They had to wait 10 hours for evacuation due to merciless Russian bombing. Nearby, as a result of the same attack, three more soldiers were killed and one was wounded.

Alexander’s story coincides with the testimony of other soldiers who say that there are no fortified positions on the front line.

Due to inadequate protection, the Ukrainian military is in increased danger.

It is reported that Ukraine has been building fortifications near Avdiivka since 2014

The Ministry of Defense told the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine has been building fortifications near Avdiyivka since 2014, and from 2022 it will focus on the areas of greatest risk.

However, in November 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called to speed up work on strengthening Ukraine’s defense in the main directions. Then Ukraine created a task force to organize the construction of the second and third defensive lines with the involvement of private contractors, and the army organized the first defensive line.

However, even a well-built trench needs constant maintenance, as Russia uses “bulldozer tactics,” says former Ukrainian colonel and military analyst Serhii Grabskyi.

Grabsky noted that the positions on the first line of defense – no matter how much work is done to strengthen them – can be quickly deformed by the fire of Russian forces.

This is a deliberate Russian tactic: to hit Ukrainian positions with artillery and mortar fire in such a way that holes remain and the defense is destroyed, the expert believes. It would be suicide for technical troops to advance to the construction of fortifications during active hostilities, he added.

But despite the conditions of the positions, Ukrainian soldiers say that they intend to hold the positions until the commanders order them to defend Avdiivka.

“I’m ready, but I don’t know if I’ll last until the end,” Oleksandr told the Kyiv Independent, sitting on a bed in a hut behind the line, tears streaming down his face.

We remind you that the Russian army seized the initiative on the front in eastern Ukraine after the failure of Kyiv’s offensive last year and since last year has been trying to cut supply lines and surround Ukrainian forces in Avdiyivka, the key city of Donetsk region. October.

The town of Avdiyivka was almost completely destroyed after the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, in conditions where fighting also took place during the Donbas war, started by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine shortly after the illegal annexation of Crimea 9 years ago.

Mayor Vitaly Barabash said this week that only 941 residents remain in the city that was once home to 32,000 people.

The situation is “critical in places” in Avdiivka

Barabash said on Wednesday that the situation is “critical in some places” and “very difficult”, adding that groups of saboteurs and Russian intelligence agents are infiltrating the area, causing separate clashes in the streets with the Ukrainian army.

“It doesn’t mean all is lost,” Barabash encouraged.

In a daily report on the situation at the front, the General Staff in Kyiv said on Thursday that troops in Avdiivka were fighting to push back Russian forces.

“Our soldiers are firmly holding the defense, inflicting significant losses on the occupiers,” the Ukrainian military said, adding that the situation is also tense in other parts of the front in the east of the country.

“The adversary is trying to break through our defenses in the area of ​​Chasovoy Yar (and not another city in the Donetsk region) and is resorting to local actions of small assault groups. [care atacă] under the cover of drones and artillery,” the General Staff of Ukraine reported on the Telegram channel.

On January 24, Russian troops managed to enter Avdiivka, but were later repulsed by counterattacks of Ukrainian troops.