Battle of Avdiivka (2023–2024)
The battle of Avdiivka was a major battle between the Russian and Ukrainian Armed Forces for control of Avdiivka, a city in Donetsk Oblast, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After more than a year and a half of intermittent fighting along the city's outskirts, Russian forces launched an offensive to capture Avdiivka on 10 October 2023, resulting in what was considered one of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the war.
| Battle of Avdiivka | |||||||||
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| Part of the eastern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||||
A Ukrainian soldier near a building struck by Russian shelling in Avdiivka, May 2023 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Russia | Ukraine | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Andrey Mordvichev | Oleksandr Syrskyi | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Heavy Per Ukraine:17,000 killed, 30,000 injured, 95 taken prisoner Equipment losses: 364 tanks, 248 artillery systems, 748 armored fighting vehicles, and five aircraft |
Unknown (presumed heavy) Western & unofficial Ukrainian estimate: Less than 100 captured | ||||||||
| 154 civilians killed, 6 missing | |||||||||
Avdiivka was one of the most fortified settlements in Ukraine and had been described as a "gateway" to the nearby provincial capital of Donetsk. Ukraine's control of Avdiivka had prevented Russian forces from using Donetsk and its resources as a communications hub and prevented Russian breakthroughs on this axis.
On 17 February 2024, with the last Ukrainian supply routes into the city under serious threat, commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced that Ukrainian forces were being withdrawn from the city "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of service personnel."
The capture of Avdiivka was Russia's largest territorial advance since taking Bakhmut in May 2023, and was considered a sign that Russian forces had retaken the initiative in the war after the failure of 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive. The battle for Avdiivka came to be known as the "second Bakhmut", or "Bakhmut 2.0", due to the similarities in battlefield conditions, Russian tactics, and reported casualty rates. It has been noted that Russian forces have lost more soldiers during the battle than during the entirety of the ten year Soviet–Afghan War.