Ukraine is conducting maneuvers in some areas of the city of Avdiyivka to move troops to “more advantageous positions,” while in other places it is trying to push back Russian troops, military spokesman Dmytro Lykhovy said on Thursday, Reuters reported. According to Ukrainians, there are about 50,000 soldiers on the Avdiyiv Front.

On television, he said that Ukraine had activated a backup logistics route to the city, but supplying Avdiivka and evacuating the city were “difficult.”

Russia has been trying to capture this city in the east of the country for several months, fierce battles are taking place there.

“Maneuvers are taking place in Avdiivka in places to move our units to more advantageous positions, and in other places to force them (Russians) to withdraw from their positions,” Lykhovy said.

“So the key announcement in all this is that securing Avdiivka and evacuation from there is complicated,” he said, adding that a “reserve logistical artery” was involved, which had been prepared in advance.

A brigade of battle-hardened warriors was thrown in

Ukraine urgently sent reserve fighters of the 3rd Airborne Assault Brigade, staffed with hardened fighters, to Avdiivka.

The 3rd Airborne Assault Brigade, which is one of the most famous combat groups in Ukraine, emphasizes that the situation in Avdiivka is “hellish”, “dangerous and unstable” and that it was sent from there to strengthen its positions. .

Last summer, the brigade took part in a counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine and was involved in the fighting for Bakhmut, another town in eastern Ukraine that held out against Russian forces for several months before being captured last May.

“The enemy continues active rotation of his troops (in the Avdiyivka region) and deploys new forces and means in the city. The situation at the time of the involvement of the brigade was extremely critical,” the brigade’s Telegram message reads.

Russian troops have been trying to capture Avdiivka since October and have surrounded it on three sides, leaving only a few supply routes for Ukrainian troops there.

The 3rd Airborne Assault Brigade said it raided Russian forces in the Avdiivka area and inflicted heavy casualties on them.

The increasingly difficult situation for Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka has fueled speculation that Russia hopes to capture the city before next month’s presidential election to give Putin an electoral boost.

What the Institute for the Study of War says

Russian troops were said to have advanced near Avdiyivka on Wednesday, but no changes to the front line in the area have been confirmed, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an assessment published overnight on Wednesday.

Russian sources reported that Russian troops advanced to Ukraine’s main land line of communication (GLOK) in Avdiivka along Hrushevsky Street. Russian military bloggers reported that Russian troops had also advanced north of Avdiivka, near the Avdiivka quarry, south of the Avdiivka coke plant.

ISW notes that, however, it has not seen any visual confirmation of these Russian claims.

A Russian blogger claimed that Russian forces control 17.5 percent of Avdiivka, and ISW can confirm that Russian forces occupied at least 15.4 percent of Avdiivka on Wednesday, February 14.

The spokesman of the Ukrainian brigade operating in the direction of Avdiyivka reported that Russian troops carry out more than 30 aerial bombardments on Avdiyivka alone every day.

According to Ukrainians, the Russian army has concentrated about 50,000 soldiers on the Avdiiv Front.