From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated 6 minutes ago
A resident walks past damaged residential buildings amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Oct. 17, 2023. STRINGER/Portal
“Our soldiers are holding the defensive lines,” the Ukrainian Army General Staff said, confirming that the Russian army had destroyed or destroyed around 900 men and 150 armored vehicles in the area within 24 hours.
The Ukrainian army said on Friday, October 20, that it had repelled a new Russian attack on the city of Avdiivka, an industrial city in the east of the country that has been subjected to heavy Russian attacks in recent weeks, while ensuring that this caused “numerous losses”. to the opponent. “The enemy has renewed its attacks and is not giving up its attempts to encircle Avdiivka,” the Ukrainian Army General Staff said in its morning report on Facebook.
“Our soldiers are holding the defensive lines,” he continued, confirming that the Russian army had destroyed or destroyed about 900 men and 150 armored vehicles in the area in 24 hours. For his part, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, published a photo of a burned armored vehicle and what appeared to be a corpse, the image of which was blurred. “Avdiivka. “Our warriors are destroying the Russians who are trying to attack from the flanks,” he wrote on Telegram.
“The opponent does not give up his attempts to break through our defense”
Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Valery Zalouzhny said on Telegram on Thursday evening that he visited Avdiivka, where “the enemy does not give up his attempts to break through our defenses.” He said he discussed with the command the tactics and “priority needs” of the units stationed there. In a video he published, we see the general outside in a helmet and bulletproof vest, then in a command post in a bunker, talking to the soldiers, who in particular told him that he had shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter plane.
“The enemy is actively using assault units, launching a large number of armored vehicles and resorting to aviation and artillery,” wrote Valery Zalouzhny. On October 10, Russian troops launched their previous attack on Avdiivka, but the first attempt ended in heavy casualties.
This city, which has been almost on the front line since 2014, is located 13 km north of Donetsk, the Moscow-controlled capital of the region of the same name, which Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to annex a year ago. Built around a huge coking plant that employed up to 4,000 people, the city still has around 1,600 residents, compared with 30,000 before the war, according to city hall.
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