Thursday, 22 May 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > World > Live Updates: Russia Steps Up Attacks on Ukrainian Fortifications in the East
World

Live Updates: Russia Steps Up Attacks on Ukrainian Fortifications in the East

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
Live Updates: Russia Steps Up Attacks on Ukrainian Fortifications in the East
SHARE
Ukrainian soldiers along frontline trenches near Barvinkove in eastern Ukraine on Monday.Credit…David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

DRUZHKIVKA, Ukraine — Longstanding strongpoints of Ukraine’s defense in the east have come under intense attack in recent days, according to the Ukrainian Army and Western military analysts.

That Ukrainian soldiers still hold the trench mazes and fortifications in two suburban towns, Avdiivka and Pisky, on the edge of the city of Donetsk is a testament to the value of their dug-in positions in the east. Ukraine’s strong defensive positions have slowed the Russian Army’s advance to a crawl, with only two large cities, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, and a few dozen miles of territory changing hands despite thousands of soldiers killed on both sides.

It was unclear exactly why assaults on the fortifications have been intensifying, and the assaults are an exception to a general tapering off of Russian attacks in the eastern Donbas region, which had been the focus of the war for months. Some military analysts believe that the relative lull has been partly a result of Russian forces’ diverting to the south to fend off a Ukrainian counteroffensive there.

The two towns, mostly deserted and destroyed, are hardly big prizes to capture, but if they were to fall, that could ease Russian advances toward the three large cities in the Donetsk region remaining under Ukrainian control, Bakhmut, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The Ukrainian army and paramilitary groups built the fortifications in the two towns during the eight years of low-intensity war after Russia’s 2014 military intervention in Ukraine to prop up a separatist region, the Donetsk People’s Republic. They are now among Ukraine’s easternmost positions.

Weaving through abandoned factories and mines, taking advantage of root cellars in country homes and using swamps as natural barriers, the defensive lines there have withstood countless assaults. After failing to flank Avdiivka, Russia began direct tank assaults this week, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research organization.

The institute noted Russian propaganda videos suggesting that Russian troops had overrun a position at the ventilation shaft of the Butiyka coal mine, which since 2015 had been the closest Ukrainian position to the city of Donetsk, a few miles from what the separatists claim is their capital.

The Ukrainian general staff has said the tank assaults did not push its soldiers from Avdiivka, but noted that they were a partial success, in a possible acknowledgment of the loss of the strategically and politically important position.

“For days in a row now, the enemy has not let up on attempts to attack,” the Ukrainian military governor of Avdiivka, Vitaliy Barabash, told Radio Liberty on Wednesday. “Everywhere is being hit by artillery and aviation” bombs.

Soldiers representing the Donetsk People’s Republic fired a field gun on the front line near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine in June.Credit…Alessandro Guerra/EPA, via Shutterstock

The Russian military has also fired into the town with rockets that spray flammable material into the air and then ignite it, creating a giant fireball. The Russian thermobaric rocket system, nicknamed the Heatwave, is one of the most destructive weapons in Russia’s arsenal.

“People are living in horrible, inhuman conditions,” Mr. Barabash said. He said that about 2,000 civilians remained in Avdiivka out of a pre-invasion population of about 20,000. “Every day, the city is shelled about 20 times,” he said.

Overall, Russia’s campaign in Donbas has tapered off in recent weeks after the appearance on the battlefield of American HIMARS, the long-range rocket-launching system used to hit ammunition depots behind Russian lines, and the start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive around the southern city of Kherson, according to Serhiy Grabskiy, a former Ukrainian army colonel and commentator on the war for the Ukrainian news media. Russia has diverted about 10,000 soldiers from the attack on Sloviansk to defend the south, he said.

“Ukrainian forces created in the Donbas quite effective defensive positions over the past several years,” Mr. Grabskiy said in a telephone interview. The Russians “are frankly stuck in Donbas now without real success,” he said. “And they have a new headache: the south, which from the perspective of the Ukrainian armed forces is a more important strategic goal.”

— Andrew E. Kramer

TAGGED:The Washington Mail
Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Zelenskyy urges opportunity to speak with Xi because China has power to stop Russian invasion Zelenskyy urges opportunity to speak with Xi because China has power to stop Russian invasion
Next Article Christina Ricci: Johnny Depp ‘explained to me what homosexuality was when I was 9’ Christina Ricci: Johnny Depp ‘explained to me what homosexuality was when I was 9’

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Heavy propaganda assaults on teals in key seats orchestrated by third-party teams

Third-party teams concentrating on the teal independents are flooding pre-poll places in Victoria and New…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Beverly Hills 90210 Actor Joe E. Tata Dead at 86 After Alzheimer’s Battle: ‘He Was a Leading Force’

Joe E. Tata, the actor best known for playing Peach Pit diner owner Nat Bussichio…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Alijah Arenas Out Of Coma, Making ‘Vital’ Progress After Cybertruck Crash

Alijah Arenas Out Of Coma ... 'Vital' Progress After Cybertruck Crash Revealed April 25, 2025…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus Enjoys Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian’s Italian Wedding Getaway

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Enjoys Travis and Kourtney's Italian Wedding Getaway After Beating Cancer. https://www.instagram.com/markhoppus/?hl=enMark Hoppus…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

Justice secretary says new sentencing plans will result in ‘huge reduction in number of women going to prison’ – UK politics reside
World

Justice secretary says new sentencing plans will result in ‘huge reduction in number of women going to prison’ – UK politics reside

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Israel-Gaza struggle: UN dispatches assist as Netanyahu says he desires full management of Gaza – Center East disaster reside
World

Israel-Gaza struggle: UN dispatches assist as Netanyahu says he desires full management of Gaza – Center East disaster reside

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Suspect in custody after two Israeli embassy workers shot lifeless close to Washington DC Jewish museum – newest updates
World

Suspect in custody after two Israeli embassy workers shot lifeless close to Washington DC Jewish museum – newest updates

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Australia information stay: Bridget McKenzie disputes Liberals’ declare on cause for Coalition break up; NSW to get extra rain and floods
World

Australia information stay: Bridget McKenzie disputes Liberals’ declare on cause for Coalition break up; NSW to get extra rain and floods

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?