Russian troops concentrated their efforts on Avdiivka instead of Bakhmut-ISW — UNIAN

The Russian army significantly slowed down its offensive near Bakhmut and instead concentrated its efforts on deploying maneuvers in other directions, in particular, in the Avdiivka area.

This is stated in reports of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW). It was stated there that as a result of March 21 and 22, Russian troops made a slight advance in the south of Bakhmut, while the forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted counterattacks on the southwestern and northwestern outskirts of the city.

Currently, the ISW says that the new possible goal of the invaders is Avdiyivka, where the enemy can probably increase the pace of the offensive by means of a conditional “pause” near Bakhmut.

“Russian forces are now increasing the pace of offensive operations around Avdiyvka in order to encircle the settlement. It is possible that Russian forces are doing this at the expense of operations around Bakhmut and the offensive around Vugledar, which has stopped,” the ISW report says.

The Institute refers to the reports of Russian soldiers of the 136th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 58th Combined Arms Army. Earlier, they said that the military leadership of the Russian Federation plans to redeploy them near Vugledar, but as of March 21, one of the Russian military bloggers reported that this unit is already fighting near Avdiivka.

“This apparent change in location, if it is not the result of Russian distortion of the facts, probably indicates that Russian troops prioritized intensifying operations around Avdiyivka, rather than resuming the offensive on Vugledar,” ISW summarized.

It was also noted there that the activation of the Russian military in new directions is unlikely to have a strong impact on events on the battlefield, since in general the Russian offensive in the east of Ukraine is approaching its climax.

The situation near Bakhmut – the latest events

We would like to remind that as of March 22, active fighting continues near the Ukrainian Bakhmut (Donetsk region). The fiercest “clashes” between the Armed Forces and the occupiers take place in the southern and northern parts of the city.

Yesterday it became known about the significant failure of the Russian troops in this direction. In particular, Ukrainian border guards repelled an enemy assault in the city. A group of “Wagners” tried to carry out sabotage at night.

Also, on March 22, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi came to Bakhmut to support the Ukrainian military. He familiarized himself with the operational situation and talked with the heroes of Ukraine.

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