ISW: Occupants in Avdiivka sector will have to take operational pause or deploy reinforcements

The Russian occupiers may have to take an operational pause before resuming offensive operations in the Avdiivka sector or deploy additional reinforcements from other parts of the front, experts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggest, UNN reports. 

Details

ISW writes in its new report that the pace of Russian offensive operations in the Avdiivka area has slowed dramatically since the city was captured. 

Dmytro Lykhoviy, head of the public relations department of the Tavria unit, said on February 19 that the number of Russian attacks in the Avdiivka sector had significantly decreased over the past 24 hours and that Russian forces were regrouping and conducting operations to clear Avdiivka.

 Lykhoviy noted that Russian shelling and air activity in the area had also significantly decreased. 

Russian forces will probably have to take an operational pause before resuming major offensives in the Avdiivka sector or deploy additional reinforcements from other parts of the front to prevent the culmination of operations near Avdiivka

Russian forces have reserves available for such reinforcements in other sectors, but ISW has not seen any indication that Russian commanders are currently moving these reserves toward Avdiivka. 

On the contrary, Ilya Yevlash, head of the press service of the Khortytsia operational and strategic grouping of troops, said that the Russian command is likely to move the forces that have accumulated around Avdiivka to other, unspecified areas of the front in the near future. 

Evlash said that it will likely take at least a week for Russian forces to move units from Avdiivka to fight in uncertain areas of the front.

As noted, ISW experts have not yet noticed any signs of how Russian forces will decide to distribute their forces currently deployed in the Avdiivka area.

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