Russian forces are “executing soldiers” trying to withdraw from a bloody new offensive in eastern Ukraine, where they are suffering significant losses, the White House said Thursday.
“We have information that the Russian military is executing soldiers who refuse to obey orders,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a news conference.
The US official indicated that Washington is also in possession of information that “Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they try to escape Ukrainian artillery fire,” although he did not provide details or how this information reached Washington.
The industrial city of Avdiivka, located in the province of Donetsk, has been the target of intense attacks in recent weeks by Russian troops, who are trying to surround it at the cost of heavy losses.
“The Russian military appears to be using what we would call human wave tactics,” in which hundreds or even thousands of fighters move toward a single point simultaneously, creating a mass effect that is difficult for enemies to contain, Kirby stated, reporting numerous casualties. of Moscow soldiers.
“Therefore, it is not surprising that Russian forces have low morale,” the National Security Council spokesman said.
The information released by the White House comes on the same day that Ukrainian forces claimed five thousand casualties from Moscow’s troops in the last two weeks near the towns of Avdiivka and Maryinka, and also indicates that Russian soldiers refuse to fight .
“Since October 10, the enemy has lost more than five thousand people in the Avdiivka and Maryinka sectors, including dead and wounded. [em combate]. We can also say that the number of armored vehicles. [russos perdidos] is approaching 400,” said the spokesman for the Ukrainian defense forces, Oleksandr Stupun, quoted by the Ukrainian digital newspaper Euromaidan.
Stupun stated that Russian forces are trying to withdraw and redeploy reserves from other areas and direct them to the Avdiivka sector, but, in particular, the fighters of the Storm-Z units, the spokesman said, refuse to fight.
According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which tracks the evolving military situation in Ukraine, Russian troops continued to carry out offensive operations near Avdiivka on Wednesday and recorded progress.
That same day, statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu were released during an inspection of a command post in eastern Ukraine, stating that his Army is exhausting the Ukrainian armed forces.
“The current situation shows that the enemy has fewer and fewer opportunities. And these will continue to be reduced thanks to your exceptional combat efforts,” Shoigu told soldiers in the Donetsk region, according to the Defense Ministry, which did not indicate the date. of the visit.
On Tuesday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that Ukrainian forces continued to resist strong Russian attacks and that the battle of Avdiivka was decisive.
“There have been many, but I think this one [Avdiivka] It is one of the most important. “It is Russia’s last attempt to take the initiative on the front,” the adviser said.
The head of the Ukrainian military administration in the area, Vitali Barabash, confirmed the same day that the Russians were “mobilizing large infantry and armor forces.”
“The losses are brutal, but that does not stop them. The assault continues. They advance like crazy, they fall by the dozens and after a while they return. There are many,” he commented.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 of last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Source: TSF
