Don's Weekly, 26 February 2024: Part 2

(…continued from Part 1…)

Western Luhansk

A Russian assault at Bilohorivka was defeated with the loss of 10 BMPs…

https://twitter.com/moklasen/status/1761142037884092682

Bakhmut

After heavy airstrikes, artillery and rocket attacks, Russia launched attacks to the north, east and south of Ivanivske. The northern and southern attacks were turned away but the attack on the town itself resulted in the Russians reaching the center before being pushed back to the eastern edge.

Russian attacks on Klishchiivka also failed with the loss of several vehicles but a Ukrainian BMP and M113 were lost to drone attacks behind the front lines. For their part, Ukraine is interdicting the southern road out of Bakhmut and taking a toll on Russian vehicles.

The aftermath of the Ivanivske attack…

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1760654151401288005

Nine Ukrainian POWs are executed…

https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status/1761809220167454841

Avdiivka

After entering Avdiivka to help the 110th Brigade withdraw, the 3rd Assault Brigade remained in the outskirts of the city while the units behind them recovered and settled into positions on the main defensive line behind the river, over 4 km from the coke plant. The coke plant was a tall and durable strongpoint for Ukraine and it’s just as tall for Russia. It provides a persistent observation platform and angles of fire over nearby treelines. The closer Ukraine is to the coke plant, the more dangerous it is for the troops.

It’s hard to say which of the positions east of the main defense line Ukraine intends to defend and it’s possible that Ukraine doesn’t know yet. It is clear that they will hold a position if it is suited for destroying Russian assaults while protecting Ukrainian defenders, but if a position becomes too dangerous to defend then they will withdraw from it. The front lines are stable in this sector and the Russian grind to gain territory continues.

At a crossroads in a treeline 1.5 km west of the coke plant, a Russian assault was stopped with HE and DPICM shelling, drones and infantry. In the chaos, a Russian BMP runs over the legs of a fellow soldier. That assault failed, but Russian advances up the treeline perpendicular to those crossroads now allowed them to fire into the northern flank of Lastochkyne.

There were at least six assaults on Lastochkyne. In one assault, 7 BMPs and a tank were knocked out. Artillery and drones also took a toll on Russian infantry. Since Lastochkyne was only 1.5 km southwest of the coke plant, and since the village was receiving flanking fire from the north, Ukraine pulled out of the village.

Further north, the 47th Brigade is still using Stepove and the treelines to the east as a kill zone for advancing Russians and then withdrawing once it’s been depopulated. If the Russians cannot occupy and build up their forces in Stepove then they will be unable to continue assaulting to the west. The 47th had been using Bradley’s and Leopards to conduct their limited counter attacks but the Leopard 2’s had been consolidated in other units to simplify logistical support. It seems that the 47th just received M1 Abrams as a replacement because one was just observed eliminating Russian forces in the treeline east of Stepove.

An attack on Lastochkyne, 2 km west of Avdiivka, failed. 7 BMPs and a tank were knocked out…

https://twitter.com/moklasen/status/1759892826018435376

Another Russian assault on Lastochkyne destroyed by DPICM, FPV, bomber drones and finally trench clearing by infantry…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1760799690906341758

A 3rd Brigade drone hunts a Russian vehicle…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1761849617803592121

A look at Lastochkyne after the Russians occupied it…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1761395265284526157

East of Avdiivka, something was burning in Makiivka…

https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1759494628116455736

A TOS-1A is destroyed…

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1761348818207994359

The first footage I’ve seen of the M-1 in action has it firing at the railroad treeline east of Stepove, 2300 meters away…

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1761044115569950744

Footage of the fight for Avdiivka will continue to surface over the coming days.

Here are 3rd Assault Brigade soldiers in the basements of the coke plant when bombs hit…

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1759422325563203834

The six wounded Ukrainians that could not be evacuated from Zenit were executed…https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/19/europe/ukrainian-avdiivka-soldiers-messages-intl/index.html

Soldiers from the 110th withdrawing from the city, trying to reach the 3rd Assault Brigade lines…

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1760781564516987157

GRAFFIC: A Russian gives a tour of a section of Avdiivka complete with the Russian dead on the ground…

https://twitter.com/albafella1/status/1760824684264771588

A Russian video said to be of Ukrainian troops leaving Avdiivka…https://t.me/new_militarycolumnist/128502

Ukraine said that Russia lost 47,000 personnel, 364 tanks, 748 IFV/APCs, 248 artillery pieces and five jets taking Avdiivka…https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-losses-casualties-tanks-death-toll-anniversary-1864726

In the foreground are the dachas on the west bank of the ponds and a small piece of the dachas on the east bank. It is through the dachas that Russia was able to break through to the city. In the background, the coke factory is obscured by the toxic smoke of burning storage tanks.

(….to be continued…)