Avdiivka RMA head says Russia is pulling forces near the city, so AFU is preparing for the third wave

Russian occupants are now amassing manpower and equipment in the Avdiivka direction. Ukrainian soldiers are preparing to repel the third enemy offensive since the beginning of the escalation in October.

At least 40,000 Russians are currently stationed near Avdiivka, the city is continuously shelled with artillery, and Russians are also dropping bombs on the town. The head of the Avdiivka Regional Military Administration, Vitaliy Barabash, said this on the We Are Ukraine TV channel.

According to him, the Russians continue to gather forces near Avdiivka.

"The enemy is pulling up a lot of forces: both personnel and various equipment. There is information from locals who are now in the temporarily occupied territories close to Avdiivka," Barabash noted.

According to his estimates, the enemy group in the Avdiivka direction has already exceeded the number of 40 thousand people reported by Ukrainian intelligence.

"I think there are more than 40 thousand occupants because about 100 thousand were concentrated in the Donetsk direction at one time. Of course, they have been moving to the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut directions. Now there is information that they are pulling up forces from the Kupiansk direction to the Avdiivka and that they even transferred forces from Mariupol," the head of the Avdiivka RMA said.

He noted that the enemy would soon launch another wave of attacks on the locality and positions of Ukrainian soldiers there.

"We are waiting, we see, we understand. The guys are preparing for the next wave, it will be the third wave since the beginning of this escalation on October 10. Everyone is preparing: the military, we, as local authorities, our utilities are preparing, doctors are also preparing," Barabash said.

He noted that the Russians are still using the tactics of "meat assaults", in which they throw a huge amount of manpower. At the same time, both the positions of Ukrainian soldiers and Avdiivka itself are subjected to brutal attacks by the enemy. For example, Russians are massively shelling Avdiivka 40-50 times a day. In recent days, the invaders have also been conducting 6 to 12 airstrikes daily.

"In general, there are hundreds of massive attacks on our positions per day. We can also hear small arms battles that do not stop around the clock," the head of the Avdiivka RMA said.

As a reminder, the General Staff noted that the enemy was continuing to try to surround Avdiivka in the morning report on October 30.

According to British intelligence, the Russian Federation has sent at least eight brigades to this area, and the losses they have already suffered are among the largest losses of the Russian army in 2023.

However, the occupiers' low-efficiency offensive on Avdiivka did not meet the expectations of the Russian leadership: the invaders cannot boast of any serious successes.

Meanwhile, ISW analysts noted that Russia is launching frontal attacks near Avdiivka with Storm-Z infantry, enemy losses reach 70% of personnel in a few days, and the rest of the occupiers are wounded.

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