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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
The Ukrainian government desperately needs billions of dollars more in US aid, a senior Pentagon official admitted, citing the critical situation in Avdeyevka, a frontline town in Donetsk that Ukrainian forces withdrew from on February 17 due to sustained Russian pressure. More alarming for the Kiev regime is the fact that the Pentagon is warning even more territory will be lost to Russian forces following the fall of Avdeyevka.
The US Senate approved on February 13 a $95 billion aid package, which includes $61 billion to finance Ukraine’s war against Russia, but the House of Representatives did not approve the measure before going on a two-week break.
“Ukrainian forces are running short of ammunition and other critical supplies, and the city is at risk of soon falling into Russian hands,” a senior Department of Defense official told the media on February 16, the day before the city was lost.
“We see this as something that could be the harbinger of what is to come if we do not get this supplemental funding—because without supplemental funding, not only can we not resupply those forces that are bravely trying to defend Avdiivka, we also will find many other locations along the forward line of troops that will be running low on supplies of critical ammunition,” the official said.
The official also said that besides Avdeyevka, other areas will also fall as Ukrainian forces run out of ammunition and air defence capabilities.
In the early hours of February 17, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was born in Novinki to the east of Moscow, announced the decision to withdraw his troops from Avdeyevka and enter defensive mode. This decision was forced since the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost some 5,550 more troops, including deaths and injuries, in the week leading to the decision.
“Based on the operational situation around Avdeyevka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defence on more favourable lines,” Syrskyi wrote on social media.
However, Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdeyevka is not a surprise. It is recalled that then Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, said in December that the Russian military could “concentrate its forces, including artillery and aviation, in one direction or another. And they can make it so that in two-three months, the town [Avdiivka] will have the same fate as Bakhmut,” which ultimately was proven true.
Maksym Zhorin, the deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, revealed on February 16 that his troops were outnumbered 15 to one after the Russian military sent seven brigades into combat, totalling about 15,000 personnel.
Even though the Institute for the Study of War claims that “the continued marginal rate of Russian advance in and around Avdiivka suggests that Ukrainian forces are currently conducting a relatively controlled withdrawal from Avdiivka,” the withdrawal has come at a huge cost as Russian units mined some routes, mostly muddy rural roads since all paved roads out of the town are under Russian control. Nonetheless, ISW warns that “Ukrainian forces may have to stabilise the frontline by counter-attacking in the area where Russian forces are trying to close the encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka in order to conduct an orderly withdrawal.”
Contradicting the ISW’s claims of a “controlled withdrawal,” Commander of the Tavria group, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, said on February 16 that “a number of Ukrainian servicemen were taken prisoner at the final stage of the operation, under pressure from the enemy’s superior forces,” even though the withdrawal was supposedly carried out in accordance to plans.
For his part, Zhorin also admitted, “The overall situation in this area is difficult, and we are facing some very tough battles ahead.”
There is no doubt that Ukraine will face even more difficulties ahead, which is why President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on February 17 of an “artificial deficit” of weapons following the fall of Avdeyevka.
“We can get our land back, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can lose, and this has already happened more than once on the battlefield,” he delusionally added.
Zelensky made the comment in the hope of securing more funding from the West, and although he might eventually achieve this, Russia’s capture of Avdeyevka has put another dent in Western resolve to continue supporting Ukraine since the situation will only worsen for Ukraine across the frontlines.
Avdeyevka is key to securing full control of Donbass since the town is a gateway to Donetsk city and will finally stop Ukrainian forces from indiscriminately bombing citizens in the city. Just as importantly, since Avdeyevka was a powerful fortress, just as Bakhmut was, the road has now opened for Russian forces to push on and evict Ukrainian troops from Donbass once and for all, a situation the Pentagon has more or less acknowledged.
better to liberate odessa and impose a non fly zone above it
i hope the front implodes in february. let’s see if kiev can plug the holes!
“we can get our land back, and (russian president vladimir) putin can lose”
says the drugged muppet zelensky, a pretend slav imbecile.
zelensky should have everybody at the munich conference hold hands and channel lenin’s spirit and ask him to give the donbass to ukraine a second time.
spenantul poate merge in vacanta la dunare
i laik to watch and thenn to cleen with mai tunge, rusticas i grotescos to
the stinky ukrainian stench of de feet.
my impotent inferior patient stapo stupid in land of germs defeated by superior russian so frequently she now develops seizure disorder