Defence of Avdiivka's heights prevents other parts of frontline from falling apart - military expert Svitan

He said this on Espreso TV.

"Avdiivka itself is a height. The eastern part of the city and the industrial zone is the dominant height, which is located southeast of Avdiivka, between the Yasynuvata checkpoint and the city itself, so the Russian forced are constantly pressing on this height. It's not about Avdiivka itself as a city, but about the fortifications. Because if we withdraw from the heights in the east of Avdiivka, we will have to move about 20 km west to the second line of defence between Karlivka and Ocheretyne. That is, we will have to go to the next heights, because we will not be able to hold on in the lowlands," the military expert explained.

According to him, these 20 km of retreat could collapse the entire frontline, including in the south towards Kurakhove, which means we will lose Marinka. We will also have to withdraw to Karlivka, and then there will be the issue of Vuhledar. This is the scenario that the Russia is currently predicting.

"The enemy has deployed somewhere between Donetsk and Volnovakha, if you look at the Donetsk-Khartsyzsk-Telmanovo-Volnovakha rectangle, there is a lot of equipment there. And the Russian forces have a military plan: if we withdraws from Avdiivka, then they will push hard from Marinka to Kurakhove, from Vuhledar to Kurakhove. That is, they want to form a front. The occupiers are preparing for our front to collapse. That is why we are holding Avdiivka, there is no politics here. It is a purely military necessity. If we fall apart and go to the second line of defence, we will have to go back, and that means moving to the heights, losing a lot of people and equipment. At the moment, the best option is to hold Avdiivka," summed up Roman Svitan.

• In November, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier Andriy Sever Shyshuk said that the guards of Avdiivka Coke were obstructing the Ukrainian Armed Forces' actions.
• On December 6, the Ukrainian military advanced east of the railway line near the Avdiivka Coke Plant and forced the enemy to withdraw from two positions, the Institute for War Studies wrote.
• On December 9, an officer with the Freedom Legion, Major Maksym Morozov, shared information about the situation near Avdiivka. The Defence Forces are fighting in the industrial zone, but the circumstances are critical.