Ukraine says eastern town of Avdiivka could become ‘second Bakhmut’
- Avdiivka is now the theatre of some of the hardest fighting along the front line in the Donbas region
- The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group claims control of ‘70 per cent’ of nearby Bakhmut
Ukraine said the eastern town of Avdiivka could soon become a “second Bakhmut”, a small city where its forces have held out against Russian invaders for eight months but risk being fully encircled.
The battle for Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas has been one of the fiercest of the nearly 13-month-old war in Ukraine, drawing comparisons with World War I trench warfare.
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said last week Moscow’s forces were now trying to fully encircle Bakhmut in an offensive that has made no major breakthroughs.
On Monday, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Tavria military command said he agreed with an assessment by British Defence Intelligence that Russia was mounting pressure on supply lines to Avdiivka, as it has done around Bakhmut.
“The enemy is constantly trying to encircle the town of Avdiivka. I very much agree with my colleagues from the UK that Avdiivka may soon become the second Bakhmut,” spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi said.
“However, I would like to say that all is not well with the Russian units attacking in this direction,” he added in televised comments.