Enemy amasses about 50,000 troops in Avdiivka sector

The enemy has amassed about 50,000 troops in the Avdiivka sector. If the enemy cuts off logistics supply routes to Avdiivka, the Defense Forces Command has provided for backup supply lines.

Dmytro Lykhoviy, the head of the communications department of the Tavria operational and strategic grouping of troops, said this on Ukrainian television, when asked about the threat of cutting off supply routes in the Avdiivka sector, Ukrinform reports.

"Our approach is that we do not comment on the events in Avdiivka in real time because it is not a football match, and for reasons of safety of deploying units, we cannot talk about the specific location of positions and troops. As of now, the situation on the front line is dynamic and can change literally every hour. Our troops are making every effort to hold their positions. In case the main logistics line is cut off by the enemy, our command has provided for backup supply routes," said Lykhoviy.

He added that fighting has been going on inside Avdiivka for several days now, which is causing a change in the tactics of the Defense Forces. The situation is flexible and dynamic, the enemy is using armored groups in the north and south of Avdiivka. On some days, the enemy is using small assault groups. The day before, the enemy deployed small infantry assault groups in one section of the contact line, but they consisted of 5-6 brigades at once. This is an indication of the intensity of the fighting, the spokesman noted.

"In total, the enemy has amassed about 50,000 troops in the Avdiivka sector," said Lykhoviy.

He noted that the Defense Forces are fighting for every piece of their homeland, while the priority is to save the soldiers’ lives.

"At a time when the situation on the battlefield is becoming the most difficult, the main thing is to save the lives of soldiers and take them to another position, to act flexibly, to maneuver in order to save soldiers for the next fighting, to recapture the territory that may have been lost. As for Avdiivka, I can say that the events of the last few days, particularly the enemy's artillery and rocket attacks on the settlements of the Donetsk region’s Pokrovsk district, which are located a little west of Avdiivka, show what each of these settlements and villages can turn into after the front line moves a little further west," explained the spokesman.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 398,140 Russian invaders in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to February 14, 2024, including 1,060 occupiers in the past day alone. The Ukrainian defenders have also destroyed 6,433 enemy tanks (+9 in the past day), 12,043 armored combat vehicles (+39), 9,566 artillery systems (+66), 984 multiple launch rocket systems (+3), 671 air defense systems (+4), 332 aircraft, 325 helicopters, 7,371 unmanned aerial vehicles (+39), 1,881 cruise missiles, 24 warships/cutters, 1 submarine, 12,662 motor vehicles (+39), and 1,523 special equipment units (+5).