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Ryuu96 on 15 December 2023
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For now its Ukrainian defenders are holding on. The Russians might be "idiots" but they have "more of everything", Smaga said. That includes 40,000 troops massed on the Avdiivka salient, tanks, Soviet-era MT-LB armoured fighting vehicles and 152mm howitzers. Since late summer, less ammunition had been reaching his unit, Smaga said. "We have enough to defend from attack. But if they keep coming, we are going to need an awful lot more."

After nearly two years of all-out war, Ukrainian officers say there have no choice but to carry on fighting. "Putin doesn't want negotiations. Nor do we," said one, Yuriy Zubchak. "A lot of our guys have died. They have paid a huge price. If we stop now then for what?" Zubchak said his men were reconciled to a long conflict, defending Ukrainian homes and land. "We are not worried about Russia's infantry superiority. They are 140 million. What concerns us is they have more weapons," he said.

How long Avdiivka will remain a Ukrainian town is uncertain. The topic of withdrawal from Avdiivka is not being discussed, at least not publicly. In bitter winter, troops stand in icy trenches, warming themselves with homemade paraffin tins, lit by a candle. There are constant booms. "We will stand until the end," Smaga said. "If the west won't support us, Moscow will try to seize Kyiv again like in 2022. And then it will keep going."

‘We Will Stand Until The End’: Ukrainian Defenders of Avdiivka Hold On – For Now | Ukraine | The Guardian