Scott Ritter: Avdeyevka Was Ukrainian Army’s ‘Most Heavily Fortified Position’

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin earlier this week that an operation to take control of Avdeyevka was carried out with minimal losses. According to Shoigu, an area of 31.75 square kilometers has been freed as a result of the capture of the town from Ukrainian nationalists.

Speaking to Sputnik, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that Ukraine lost the battle of Avdeyevka for several reasons, the most dominant of which is that they simply don't have the firepower necessary to stabilize the battlefield.

"They [Ukrainian forces] have no more artillery rounds that enable them to flood the battlefield, break up Russian attacks, and support counterattacks. They don't have air defenses to stop Russian air power from coming in and dominating the battlefield. They have insufficient drones to replace artillery fire support. Simply put, the Ukrainians are unable to hold their own on the battlefield," Ritter pointed out, describing the situation as "the Avdeyevka end game."

When it comes to the unmanned aerial vehicles, "even when Ukrainian soldiers use the drones because they can't stop the Russian air power, the drone operators are targeted and eliminated," according to Ritter.

He recalled that Ukrainian troops had been "pushed out of Avdeyevka, heavily fortified, if not the most heavily fortified, position in the entire Ukrainian defensive lines."

The former US Marine Corps intelligence officer underlined that when freeing the town, “the Russians didn't suffer the heavy casualties that the Ukrainians claimed. “But the notion that the Russians lost everybody, there's nothing left, is absurd. Russian strength grows every day. Not only are they not suffering horrific losses on the battlefield, but they're getting stronger,” Ritter emphasized.

Analysis

How Avdeyevka Was Liberated and What Comes Next

21 February, 01:20 GMT

He suggested that the liberation of Avdeyevka could be "the beginning of the end of the Ukrainian combat cohesion along their entire front line."

"Avdeyevka is not a one-off situation, it is the situation that will be replicated again and again, until which time Ukrainian military is no longer able to mount a cohesive defense. At that point of time, the special military operation will come to an end, because the goal of demilitarization would have been achieved," Ritter underscored.

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) earlier said in a statement that the liberation of Avdeyevka "made it possible to push the front line away from Donetsk, significantly securing the city from terrorist strikes by the criminal Kiev regime." The MoD added that the Russian military’s Tsentr (Center) Battlegroup continues offensive operations to further liberate the Donetsk People's Republic from Ukrainian nationalists.

Scott Ritter on Avdeyevka: Ukrainian Forces Failed to 'Hold Their Own on Battlefield’