Russia continues to throw infantry and equipment at the embattled city of Avdiivka, attacking from three different angles, said Ruslan Muzychuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's National Guard, on Nov. 9.
The Russian military keeps trying to surround the destroyed city using a wide variety of tactics. The destroyed city is still held by Ukrainian forces, who have created strong fortifications and other defenses to stymie Russian attacks.
Muzychuk noted that Russian attacks in recent days were using fewer armored vehicles, possibly due to worsening weather conditions or that significant amounts of Russian armor had already been destroyed in the battle for the city.
Almost 80 Russian attacks were recorded over the past day, Muzychuk said. A large number of drones were being deployed by both sides, he added.
Russian forces intensified ground attacks against Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, and surrounding settlements in early October in an effort to encircle the town. The campaign has been supported by heavy shelling and air strikes.
The battle for Avdiivka has inflicted heavy losses on Russian forces. Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade said on Nov. 6 that as many as 7,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded there, and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles have been destroyed.
The battle for Avdiivka illustrates the Russian military command's inability to learn from past mistakes, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Nov. 1.
"Avdiivka is a microcosm of the Russian General Staff’s wider failure to internalize and disseminate lessons learned by Russian forces during previous failed offensive efforts in Ukraine," ISW analysts said.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
