https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/10/russians-advance-trying-encircle-avdiivka-put-it-cauldron/
“’Our Avdiivka is under massive attacks by Russian artillery and aviation’, Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said on Tuesday in a post on the Telegram messaging service, which included a photo of a building reduced to rubble.
Mykola Bielieskov, a military analyst at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, a Ukrainian government research group, said in an interview that “the scale of the recent attacks is unprecedented” in Avdiivka. He compared it to the fighting that took place there more than half a year ago, when Russia relentlessly shelled the town, turning it into a wasteland.”
As the Ukrainian counteroffensive petered out, Russian forces started to probe the frontline for weaknesses.
Attacks this year have mostly taken place along Ukraine’s northeastern front line, especially near Kupyansk, further to the north.
Russian forces have reportedly broken through several Ukrainian defensive positions near villages surrounding Avdiivka, as they attempt to encircle the town.
“’Avdiivka is a very important strong point in the Ukrainian system of defense’, Mr. Bielieskov said, noting that Russian forces had repeatedly tried to seize the town. Its capture, he added, could compromise Ukraine’s defensive positions in the east, because the town has road connections to two key cities in the area, Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka.”
15 miles or so from Donetsk, the town has a considerable contingent of Ukrainian forces dug into trenches.