Russian forces haven't been able to break through Ukraine's defense for 9 years: military expert on situation around Avdiivka

He said this on Espreso TV. 

Sniehyrov notes that the Russian troops complain about the command's decision to storm Avdiivka. 

"I explain: this is the same Russian commander who threw tank columns at the assault on Vuhledar. They have the same question: how long can this idiocy continue. And accordingly, the Russians' assessment of the events surrounding the storming of Avdiivka is already unconvincing, and they are asking themselves whether this is the second Bakhmut. At the same time, they realize that they have been storming Bakhmut for 9 months," the military expert noted.

In addition, Sniehyrov drew attention to the rhetoric of Ukrainian experts that there is an alleged Russian deadline to make a gift to Putin by December 31 by capturing Avdiivka.

"I repeat once again: Avdiivka, unlike Bakhmut, is a solid industrial zone. The Ukrainian Armed Forces' firing positions here have been prepared since 2014, and the Russians themselves have to admit that the positions are rolled in concrete. The Avdiivka Coke Plant is not even Mariupol or Azovstal, because the positions were prepared in advance. They have not been able to break through the defense line for 9 years," he emphasized.

The military expert believes that it is worth talking about this and reassuring the Ukrainian population, because the same Russians today denied their own information that they "successfully seized the spoil tip and went almost to the railroad tracks."

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.