Commanders in the key battle for Avdiivka in Donetsk fear the town will be lost in a matter of days if more international aid cannot be secured – and that huge casualties will be suffered in the process. Arpan Rai reports
Commanders in the key battle for Avdiivka in Donetsk fear the town will be lost in a matter of days if more international aid cannot be secured – and that huge casualties will be suffered in the process.
What we do know is that casualty ratios are fairly consistent across a large number of wars, and this helps us use public source data effectively. We have very little hard data. But what data we do have suggests that Ukraine’s casualties are higher than Russia’s.
God forbid they lose a 31k pre-war population town where the tallest structure left is an unexploded bomb. Let's give them another billion dollars and see how many Ukrainians it costs to capture the next ruin.
There is a growing sense of alarm among Ukraine’s frontline forces at dwindling supplies of arms and ammunition and signs that the commitment of international partners is faltering, according to multiple senior Ukrainian military officials.
Ukraine’s military fears Vladimir Putin’s forces could break through its defensive lines and secure victory for Russia within days if the US does not commit to more aid, with intense fighting still taking place and hourly assaults targeting the key industrial town of Avdiivka, despite the onset of the country’s bitter winter.
Volodymyr Zelensky has continued to strike a grittily optimistic tone while appealing for more support from allies in recent days, firmly rejecting the suggestion that Ukraine is about to start losing the war when questioned at a news conference with foreign media on Tuesday.
But, with the US Congress failing to agree even a smaller Ukraine aid package or temporary relief before breaking up for the winter recess, Mr Zelensky’s frontline commanders have a much more grim warning for the future that awaits the country if it is left to fight on its own.
Mr Putin’s forces appear better prepared for the second winter of their invasion compared to Ukraine, which expended a great deal of effort and resources this summer on a long-awaited counter-offensive that produced only small territorial gains.
Dmytro Lazutkin, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade which is holding the northern outskirts of Avdiivka, says it is no secret that Western arms supplies are what have allowed his military to withstand the onslaught from its much bigger neighbour so far.
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I feel sorry for the Ukrainians. They have been misled by the US on the sincerity of their support. No one saw Al-Aqsa Flood coming but the moment it happened I knew the US was going to abandon Ukraine.
God and oil are higher priorities for the US than any other buzzword they claim to care about.
What’s your take then? They should continue throwing soldiers at a war they are clearly losing? What is that supposed to happen achieve apart from getting even more Ukrainians killed than already were?