WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russian forces pound eastern Ukraine's Avdiivka
Russian forces pounded the shattered eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka on Tuesday, but heavy losses forced them to switch to air attacks and rely less on full-on ground advances, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia has focused on advancing in the east -- in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk -- after failing to move on Kyiv in the early days of its invasion, launched in February 2022.
Ukraine in June undertook a counteroffensive, capturing villages in the east and south, but at a much slower pace than a rapid advance through the northeast a year ago.
Russia appears to have focused for the moment on Avdiivka -- a town known for its vast coking plant and now a hallmark of Ukrainian resistance.
"The enemy dropped about 40 guided aerial bombs in two nights. But the number of ground assaults has been reduced, half of what it was yesterday and the day before," Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told national television.
"This is not surprising as over the past five days, the enemy has lost about 2,400 dead and wounded in Donetsk region."
Most of those casualties, he said, were near Avdiivka and the nearby long-contested town of Maryinka
Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, said the town was enduring unrelenting artillery and air attacks.
"The enemy is persistently trying to surround the city and is throwing in new forces from the north and south," Barabash told television.
"For two days, they have been operating mostly in small groups, trying to find cracks in our defence, but without success. The defence line is holding."
Avdiivka was captured briefly in 2014, when Russian-backed separatists seized large chunks of eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces took it back and built solid fortifications.
Russian forces have also been attacking further north in the area of Kupiansk -- a town initially seized by Russian forces after the invasion but recaptured by Ukraine in last year's drive in the northeast.
Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Synehub said two civilians had died in an artillery strike on a village near Kupiansk.
Russian accounts of the fighting have avoided any mention of Avdiivka this week, but noted successful artillery and air strikes near Bakhmut -- a town to the northeast captured by Russian forces in May after months of battles.
Reuters could not independently verify accounts of battlefield activity on either side.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russian forces pound Ukrainian troops, equipment in 109 areas over past day
Russian forces struck Ukrainian troops and military equipment in 109 areas over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
"Operational/tactical and army aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces struck the Ukrainian army’s manpower and military hardware in 109 areas," the ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces destroy 60 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area over past day
Russian forces destroyed roughly 60 Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"In the Kupyansk direction, units of the western battlegroup supported by aircraft and artillery fire repulsed in their active operations eight attacks by the Ukrainian army’s 14th and 32nd mechanized, 68th jaeger and 101st territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Ivanovka, Sinkovka and Sergeyevka in the Kharkov Region. The enemy’s losses equaled as many as 60 Ukrainian personnel and two pickup trucks," the ministry said.
** Russian drones hunt for German Leopards
Newly published battlefield footage from the conflict in Ukraine purports to show two German-made Leopard battle tanks taking direct hits in Russian drone strikes, with both seen erupting into flames during engagements with Russian forces.
In a pair of clips shared by military bloggers on Tuesday, two Ukrainian tanks appeared to meet their demise after taking direct hits from Russian UAVs and artillery. Open-source conflict monitor channel LostArmour identified the destoyed tanks as German-made Leopard 2A4s.
The videos were said to have been captured near the town of Rabotino in Zaporozhye, the site of fierce battles in recent weeks.
Another clip shows a Leopard advancing through an open field from a distance, firing off a few shells before it is struck by a First Person View (FPV) drone, which have been employed heavily throughout the conflict.
Since the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in early June, the Russian military has repeatedly published photos and videos of destroyed Ukrainian military equipment, including Western-made hardware. Clips showing the destruction and capture of German-made Leopard tanks and at least two British Challengers have since been made public.
Earlier this month, Russian Lancet loitering munitions were seen taking out British-supplied howitzers in a long-distance “precision strike,” while other footage has shown strikes on Ukrainian aircraft parked at far-away airfields.
Moscow has repeatedly urged against foreign arms shipments to Kiev, insisting the weapons would only prolong the fighting but do little to deter its military objectives.
Late last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Western-made armor was “readily burning” under Russian strikes, and though he acknowledged recently-supplied US Abrams tanks were “some serious weapons,” he declared that “these will burn too.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s latest estimates, Ukraine has lost more than 17,000 soldiers and over 2,700 pieces of hardware in its counteroffensive in September alone. The operation has failed to achieve major changes to the front lines since it was launched in June, despite the heavy casualties suffered by Ukrainian forces.
Reuters/Tass/RT
