AVDEEVKA: Ukrainian soldiers acknowledged that the fall of...

• AVDEEVKA: Ukrainian soldiers acknowledged that the fall of Avdiivka seems inevitable, given Russia’s offensive capability.
• Hrabskyi stressed that positions on the first defense line – regardless of how much time was spent on their fortification – could be quickly deformed due to the sheer force of Russia’s firepower.
• These are deliberate Russian tactics: pounding Ukrainian positions with artillery and mortar fire so that only small holes are left, and the defense is compromised, the expert said. It would be suicidal for engineering troops to come forward to construct fortifications during active fighting, he added.
• The second line of defense, a few kilometers behind the front, is still being built, according to nearly a dozen interviewed soldiers.
• While Russia continued to strengthen its defense lines even as it launched an offensive on multiple axes over the winter, Ukraine appears to have done little to prepare for a long attritional battle during its summer counteroffensive.
• Given the current intensity of the Russian attacks on front-line positions at Avdiivka, soldiers say they have to make do with what they have.
• Now the situation in Avdiivka, a Ukrainian fortress that was briefly occupied in 2014, is more critical than ever, with Russian forces only a few kilometers away from fully encircling the city.
• Ukrainian soldiers – even those defending the city since the beginning of the full-scale war – acknowledged that the fall of Avdiivka seems inevitable, given Russia’s offensive capability that is extremely costly but still effective in the long run.

(MyLordBebo via Itapirkanmaa2)
https://kyivindependent.com/avdiivka-defense-uncertain-as-ukraine-struggles-with-fortification/