The capture of “Bakhmut” and now “Audioka”; How far will the Russians go?

Mehr News, International Group: On the eve of the second anniversary of the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is the fifth of March 1400 (February 24, 2022) was done, now a big and decisive event has taken place in the field.

After four months of heavy fighting in the important city of Avdiyka in eastern Ukraine, the commander of the Ukrainian army announced the withdrawal of the country’s soldiers from this city. “Alexander Sirsky”, the commander of the armed forces of this country, wrote in a Facebook message on Saturday morning (28th of February): “I decided to withdraw my units from the city in order to prevent the siege and to save the lives of the military forces.”

Russia began trying to capture this city in October, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said about three weeks ago that the country’s forces had reached the outskirts of Avdiyoka.

Heavy battles in the industrial city of Avdiyoka with more than 70,000 people have been one of the bloodiest battles, and with the very intense battle 9 months ago that led to the occupation of the city of Bakhmut by the forces Russia led, it is compared.

How did Bachmut fall?

In May of this year, Russian forces announced that they had taken full control of Bakhmut and ended the months-long conflict in this city located in eastern Ukraine; The city that until then was the center of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Ukrainian war.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the commander of the Russian Wagner Group, who was later killed in a helicopter crash, announced that his forces were able to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after months of fierce fighting. take over completely; A statement that was initially rejected by Ukraine, but the leaders of Kiev finally approved it.

The capture of Bakhmut was considered a launching pad for Russian forces. This city is a regional transportation and logistics center in the “Donetsk” province of Ukraine; An industrial and mainly Russian-speaking province that Moscow planned to annex to its territory with a special military operation.

With the capture of Bakhmut, the 2 largest cities of the Donetsk region, namely “Kramatorsk” and “Slavyansk”, which the Kremlin had been trying to capture for a long time, are within the easy range of Russian artillery. were placed Moscow needed to control these cities to complete what it calls the “liberation” of these areas.

Since then, deadly Russian missile attacks on the city of Kramatorsk began, and 150,000 people were always hit by missiles, from the railway to the restaurants of this city. At the same time, the air attack of the Russian army on the Ukrainian city of Slavyansk with a population of 63 thousand continued.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky predicted this event. Earlier, during an interview with CNN, he expressed his concern that with the capture of Bakhmut, Russian forces would find a “smooth way” to these two cities.

The city of “Chasio Yar” in the west of Bakhmut was the next target of the Russian forces and this domino went where it eventually became Avdiyoka as a very important city and A strategy has arrived.

The importance of Avodioka and its effect on the war equation

The capture of Avdiyoka, which fell into the hands of the Russians after several months of bloody battles in recent days, is the biggest change in the front line, which is more than a thousand kilometers long. This military achievement clearly shows how the tide of war has turned in Moscow’s favor after the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive last year.

From the point of view of observers, the capture of Avdiyoka is considered a strategic blow to the Ukrainian army, because Avdiyoka was a Ukrainian defense bastion in the Donetsk region that protected several key positions of the army and The city of Donetsk, which was close to Russian control, was under constant threat.

Taking control of Avdioka could also create a new opportunity for Russia. In the next step, the forces of this country can take control of strategic cities such as Pokrovsk, which is a logistics center for the Ukrainian army.

This victory also brings the Russians closer to their important goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region; The capture of this strategic city will allow the Russian army to completely take over the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk in the future and establish a security buffer zone around these areas and consolidate its control over them.

Also, pushing back the Ukrainian forces from the vicinity of Donetsk will prevent the Ukrainians from easily penetrating the borders of Russia. In addition, with the strengthening of Russian defenses in this region, the maneuverability of Kiev’s drone attacks deep into Russian territory will decrease.

Therefore, Avdiyoka can be seen as the gateway to the city of Donetsk. Russian officials emphasize that residential areas of the country have been shelled by Ukrainian forces, sometimes from Avdiyka. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Avdiyoka was a strong defensive center for Ukraine’s armed forces and that its capture would move the front line away from Donetsk and reduce Ukraine’s ability to shell Russian trenches.

On the one hand, the capture of the city of Avdiyoka can strengthen the morale of the Russian soldiers and, on the other hand, the morale of the Ukrainian forces, which since June in the so-called “counter-offensive” operation have achieved few achievements, to weaken.

Audioka, known for its large factory that produces a coal-based fuel called “coke”, is also considered a great achievement for the Russians economically. comes. The city is heavily fortified with a network of tunnels and concrete fortifications that could serve as a springboard for possible Moscow victories in the future.

Additionally, the capture of Avdiyoka is Russia’s biggest territorial advance since the capture of Bakhmut last May and could become a point of pride for Putin because He is looking for the fifth presidential term, the election of which will be held in the coming weeks, on March 17 (March 27).

Putin, who in 2018 was able to win the elections by winning about 77% of the votes with a great distance from his rivals, with the capture of Bakhmut and Inc. Avdiyoka, has a high chance for re-enters the Kremlin.

Who is to blame for Ukraine’s dominovar failures?

As ​​it appears from the evidence, the forces of Kiev, due to the slow arrival of artillery shells from the European Union and the suspension of American military aid due to party conflicts in that country’s Congress, They have been forced to retreat from this strategic city.

A few days before the fall of Avdiyoka, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the city was in danger, referring to the lack of artillery ammunition among the Ukrainian forces. The fall is at the hands of Russian forces.

The “Newsweek” magazine also dealt with the same issue in a report and pointed the arrowhead of the accusation towards the west and wrote: While the commanders of the Ukrainian army have a severe shortage of ammunition. They have evaluated the most important factor in the defeat of Kiev in the battlefield of Avdiyoka since the retreat from Bakhmut in the summer of 2023.

Margus Sahkena, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, as one of the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, in response to Newsweek’s question that “All countries are responsible,” he said, whether the late and small delivery of American and allied ammunition to Ukraine caused the recent defeat in the city of Avdiyoka.

Democrat-led US Senate, although in the early hours of Tuesday morning (24 February), the country’s $95 billion aid bill to Ukraine, the Zionist regime and Taiwan approved, but for months they have had a serious disagreement about helping these actors.

After the disagreement in the US Congress over whether or not to help Ukraine in November, the Democratic senators rejected the bill proposed by the Republicans in the Congress to send emergency aid to the Zionist regime. And blocked the lack of aid to Ukraine.

Therefore, the consecutive defeats of Ukraine are due to the fact that the consensus in the US Congress on the continuation of aid to Kiev has disappeared. Republicans are no longer willing to help Ukraine and believe that helping the Zionist regime should be prioritized. On the other hand, the Democrats are still committed to continuing the aid to Ukraine.

Therefore, earlier the Democrats of the US Senate blocked the bill proposed by the Republicans of the House of Representatives to send emergency aid to the Zionist regime, because in this bill there is no aid for Ukraine in The battle with Russia was not considered.