Avdiivka becomes hostage to events unfolding in US Congress — military expert Dykyi

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"There is a risk that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will have to withdraw from Avdiivka. At the moment, Avdiivka is a terrible, but essential "meat grinder". The ratio of casualties in Avdiivka is 1 to 10, 1 to 12. That is, for every one of the Ukrainian defenders, 12 Russians are killed. It's hard for our guys, but they say they have to hold on because it benefits us. The Russians are just grinding against Avdiivka. But there is one weak point there, the road, which ensures the supply of all necessary. Unfortunately, the enemy is quite close to this road. That is, as long as the road is open, Avdiivka can be held," explained Dykyi.

According to a former battalion commander of the Aidar platoon, the likelihood of the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrawing from Avdiivka is increasing every day for one reason.

"There is a really terrible "shell famine" there, and it's not just Avdiivka that hasn't been supplied with shells. Shells have not been brought to Ukraine. That is, the fate of Avdiivka has become a hostage to what is happening in the US Congress, where Trump has actually personally blocked military aid to Ukraine. There is a high probability that Avdiivka will be the first direct result of the "shell famine" and that we will have to withdraw from it," emphasized Dykyi.

• Over the past day, Russian forces attempted to conduct assault operations in the Kherson direction, Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled 14 attacks and eliminated 30 Russian troops