Russia loses 6,500 soldiers, 100 tanks, 250 armored vehicles near Avdiivka in 20 days

This was reported by Army Inform, citing the words of Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesman for the Joint Press Center of the Tavria Defense Forces, on the United News telethon.

Russia conducts unsuccessful assault operations in the Avdiivka direction near the settlements of Keramik, Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonenke and Opytne. Over the past day, October 28, over 10 attacks were repelled there.

It’s activity near Marinka and Novomykhailivka continues, where Ukrainian troops have repelled 16 attacks. In particular, Russian troops conducted unsuccessful assault operations near Staromayorske and south of Zolota Nyva and tried unsuccessfully to regain lost positions near Verbove, Zaporizhzhia direction.  

"If we talk about the number of losses, Avdiivka is the biggest defeat for the Russians. If we count from October 10, the total enemy losses in the Donetsk region in the area of responsibility of the Tavria Brigade amounted to almost 6,500 people. 100 tanks and almost 250 units of other armored vehicles were completely destroyed. Yesterday alone, 5 enemy tanks were destroyed again, including a T-90," stated Colonel Shtupun.

In particular, the spokesman of the joint press center of the tavria Defense Forces noted that Russia is trying to pull up reserves, its troops currently have up to 40,000 people in the Avdiivka direction.

"The enemy is moving forward, suffering losses, the remnants are running back, and they are trying to gather them by all means and drive them forward again. Ordinary soldiers see these losses and refuse to go to certain death, so the Russian command is trying to deceive them or use some fresh forces from the Russian hinterland that are not yet aware of what is happening at the front," he added.

According to Shtupun, "commanders intimidate and use physical force against ordinary soldiers," as a result of which Russian soldiers begin to surrender.

"Only yesterday we counted about 10 of them. The invaders are also hastily changing some commanders, which indicates that the Russians are in big trouble. But we shouldn't relax, because the enemy still has forces, and we must be ready to repel them," summarized Oleksandr Shtupun.

• The Institute for the Study of War predicts that significant losses of Russian equipment near Avdiivka may hamper Russia’s long-term offensive capabilities.

• On October 27, President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussed the situation at the front with the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Rishi Sunak.

• Serhii Tsekhotskyi, an officer with the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk, highlighted the success of Ukrainian Defense Forces in repelling Russian attacks near Avdiivka.

• On October 28, the UK Ministry of Defense received information that Russian troops were unlikely to fulfill the Kremlin's expectations regarding the capture of Avdiivka.

• Military observer Denys Popovych said that the Russian army is trying to surround Avdiivka to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table.

• On October 29, in the Avdiivka direction, Ukrainian border guards destroyed a Russian warplane, presumably a Su-25, using a portable air defense system (MANPADS).