Russian forces launched a ”kamikaze-style attack” in one of the deadliest battles of the war.
New drone footage reveals the extent of Russia’s losses in Avdiivka.
”It’s an apocalyptic place,” says AP journalist Yevhen Maloletka.
The surprise Russian attack in Avdiivka in October resulted in one of the bloodiest days of the Ukraine war.
Within 24 hours, 990 Russian soldiers were killed, according to the Ukrainian military. Newsweek described the event as a ”Russian kamikaze attack.” Over 13,000 Russians are estimated to have been killed or injured during the two months of fighting in the region, Forbes reports.
The AP has obtained new drone footage from the Ukrainian military showing the devastation on the eastern Ukrainian battlefield.
On the Field
The clip shows 150 dead soldiers scattered across the fields, most of them in Russian uniforms.
According to Ukraine’s 110th Mechanized Battalion, who captured the images, the bodies are located outside the small village of Stepove, north of Avdiivka where some of the most intense fighting has taken place.
”It’s an apocalyptic place,” writes AP journalist Yevgenij Maloletka in the article.
Explanation Behind the Battles
Russia has destroyed or damaged nearly all buildings in Avdiivka, according to a new report from The Guardian. All schools have been destroyed, and nine out of eleven medical clinics have been damaged.
”Avdiivka has been a central battleground in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The shelling of the city has been relentless. We have seen similar patterns in other frontline cities such as Mariupol and Bakhmut,” the report states according to The Guardian.
The intense battles are explained by experts as Russia’s attempt to take control of the city in order to more easily defend the Russian-occupied Donetsk which Ukraine is trying to reclaim.
