Ukrainian Army Launches Offensive In Donbas: Russians Abandon Vuhledar With Losses

The Ukrainian army struck northeast of Avdiivka.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine deployed fresh assault units to the Donetsk direction, which first conducted a successful reconnaissance in combat near the village of Vodiane, pushing the Russian Armed Forces by 2-3 km, and then knocked out Russian troops from positions northeast of Avdiivka, hitting the base of the Russian ledge on Novoselivka, according to the dialog.ua.

The Volia Russian telegram channel also writes about this, citing information from its own sources.

According to preliminary information, Russian troops retreated from Vuhledar and Marinka (southwest of Donetsk), and the Ukrainian army averted the threat of encirclement of Avdiivka.

“According to reports from both sides, the Russian Armed Forces withdrew to Novoselivka and they may lose settlement if the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue the offensive. This could lead to an encirclement or a quick retreat of the Russian Armed Forces from positions near Krasnohorivka. Russian "war correspondents" called these positions to be key ones and assured in the autumn that the Russian Armed Forces would be able to successfully surround Avdiivka. Fierce battles for these settlements have been going on since the beginning of the war. The Russian Armed Forces will most likely destroy all their local successes with a retreat from their generously bloodied positions," the report reads.

The authors note that the Russian Armed Forces also retreated east of Avdiivka, moving closer to Spartak and Yasynuvata. Also, according to sources, the Russian troops retreated about 10 km from their positions near Vuhledar. This territory is not yet occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“According to sources at the headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the retreat is due to two factors. First, the Russian troops were unable to advance further because they had exhausted their human and material resources. Secondly, the actions of the assault units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Avdiivka showed that the stretched front could be broken in several places at once, so they decided to shorten the contact line in order to create a dense defence around Donetsk, Yasinovataya and Horlivka, as well as strengthen the defence around Volnovakha,” the message reads.

The Bakhmut situation is quite similar. The Russian Armed Forces are preparing to withdraw from positions to the south and north of the city, and PMCs have completely lost the pace of advance in Bakhmut. According to Ukrainian sources, the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to gradually win back quarters in the city center, according to the authors.