Active fighting in Avdiivka sector may last for months – military expert

He expressed this opinion on the Espreso TV channel

"Now we are not talking about the fact that active hostilities in the Avdiivka sector will end very quickly. We must always understand that any Russian operation will last for a long time. It is worth recalling the recent events in Vuhledar. Russian occupiers stormed this town for months. They also threw columns of armored vehicles there, which were fired upon by the Ukrainian army. And as we can see now, Vuhledar is under the control of Ukraine," Katkov explained.

According to the expert, everything points to the fact that Russia is ready for a long offensive in the Avdiivka sector.

"We should expect active hostilities in the Avdiivka sector to last for a long time. Since the Russians still have an advantage in the number of armored vehicles and artillery, they do not count their losses. Therefore, all of this indicates that their offensive in the Avdiivka sector will last for a long time, not just a few days or even a few weeks," he added.

Russian offensive on the key city of Avdiivka in eastern Donetsk region

On October 11, the Institute for the Study of War noted that the Russian occupying army had intensified its offensive around Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. The city has been a frontline one for almost 10 years, and now Russian troops are trying to encircle it.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that in the Avdiivka direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled 10 attacks near Avdiivka and another 8 attacks east of Stepove and southeast of Sieverne in the Donetsk region.

The head of Avdiivka City Military Administration, Vitaliy Barabash, reported shelling of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, which killed an elderly man and wounded two civilians.

On October 12, experts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) named the real reasons for the Russian offensive on Avdiivka.

Vitaliy Barabash, head of the Avdiivka City Military Administration, noted that Russian troops are trying to concentrate their forces north of the city, launching assault operations.

On October 13, the ISW reported that in three days, Russian troops had captured 4.52 square kilometers of territory from different directions near Avdiivka. The occupying Russian army suffered significant losses in equipment and manpower.