Russia is trying to break through Ukraine’s front line before winter

Ukraine is on fire. Russian forces have launched an offensive across the entire front line in their final push before winter. About a hundred combat clashes took place yesterday, one of the most decisive of which is unfolding in Avdiivka. A suburb of occupied Donetsk, Avdiivka fell under the control of pro-Russian militants for three months back in 2014 before it was liberated. Now Avdiivka is under attack again, with Ukrainian soldiers trying to stop the largest offensive on the city since the onset of the war.

Avdiivka has been semi-encircled by Russian forces from the north, east and south for months, with little change on the ground. In the initial assault on Tuesday, approximately 2,000 Russian soldiers and up to a hundred armoured vehicles descended upon the city. Russian troops were aiming for a blitzkrieg: they live-streamed their assault, which they described as a ‘massive offensive’, and filmed their aircraft heading to bombard Avdiivka.