Russia Well Equipped to Take Ukraine's 'Impregnable Fortress' of Avdeyevka

While Ukrainian leadership is busy reshuffling generals and trying to press-gang more civilians to fight for Kiev’s and NATO’s interests, Russian forces continue their advance on one of the key strongholds in Donbass.

Russian troops have made several gains near the city of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic in recent weeks, threatening to cut off and wipe out the Ukrainian forces entrenched there.

Ukraine’s new Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky is attempting to rally his troops to try and relieve the Kiev units in Avdeyevka. However, it appears that some of the Ukrainian units in the beleaguered city are abandoning their positions and fleeing, argued Andrey Koshkin, a veteran Russian academic specializing in military and international affairs.

 At the same time, Koshkin pointed out, Russian forces have their work cut out since Ukrainian troops have been turning Avdeyevka into a veritable fortress practically since they seized control of the city in 2014 at the onset of the Ukrainian conflict.

“It is a potent stronghold. It was being built since 2014,” he said, claiming that the amount of concrete used by Ukrainian engineers to build fortifications there exceeds that spent on civilian construction projects in some cities.

According to him, Ukrainian forces “invested a lot of effort, resources and money into turning the city into an impregnable fortress.”

Meanwhile, Russian forces are keen to drive Kiev regime militants from Avdeyevka because Ukrainian artillery in the city can shell the residential districts of nearby Donetsk with relative impunity, with Koshkin noting that protecting the lives of civilians in Donbass is one of the primary goals of Russia’s ongoing military operation.