Russian forces have been heavily committed to storming the city of Avdiivka in Donbas but repeated assaults have “floundered” according to British Ministry of Defence assesements.
Fighting across Ukraine appears stagnant with the advantage with the defending side, Avdiivka appears to be no exception with Ukrainian positions reportedly holding firm
The Ministry of Defence reports that a major factor in the failure of Russian forces to make a breakthrough is a lack of close air support.
Likewise, the size of the frontline stretching for over 1,000km makes deploying enough troops for offensive actions while also plugging potential gaps a huge ask for both sides.
The MoD report reads: “Operations in recent weeks have seen the continuation of a trend which has been identified since early in the war: other factors being equal, the balance of land combat generally favours the defending force.
“In the south, the Ukrainian advance remains relatively static between the two main lines of Russia’s well prepared defensive positions. Around the Donbas town of Avdiivka, a large-scale Russian assault has floundered on strong Ukrainian defences.
“A major factor in this phenomenon has highly likely been the relative side-lining of tactical air power: both sides have maintained credible air defences, preventing combat jets from providing effective air support for assaults.
“Above all, the geographic size of the conflict has hampered the offensives: both sides have struggled to assemble uncommitted striking forces capable of a breakthrough because most of their mobilised troops are needed to hold the 1,200km line of contact.”
Ukraine is holding onto its position in the city and surrounding area despite attempts by Russia to encircle the Avdiivka.
The fighting comes during reports that Russia is failing to learn from past mistakes with the Institute for the Study of War noting poor coordination between troops.
George Barros an analyst for the US think tank said: “It was not surprising to see the quality of the attack, or the lack thereof, and the lack of coordination. That was not surprising.
“What really astonished me was on October 11 or 12, I saw this viral piece of combat photo showing a column of Russian vehicles advancing towards Adviivka southern flank, and one of the lead vehicles in this column flipped over and fell into a reservoir which was kind of humouring.
“But the column itself was very densely packed, they weren’t spaced out very well.”
