Ferocious Ukrainian Fire ‘Annihilates’ Russian Armored Column Near Avdiivka

Video released on Wednesday by Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade shows a Russian attack column being hit and damaged by artillery strikes during a failed attack in the Avdiivka sector, in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

The video shows an assaulting column of Russian tanks led by mine-clearing vehicles, and followed by at least fifteen armored personnel carriers.

The first Russian losses come when a tank attempting to drive through a wood line hit anti-tank landmines.

Units from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) then followed up with strikes by artillery and anti-tank missiles which incurred losses on the column and turned it back. The video was reportedly recorded in mid-October.

Avdiivka is a Ukrainian stronghold that has been held since the 2014 attempts by Russia to annex the region. It is located north of Donetsk city which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks, with what seems to be an attempt by Russia to secure a symbolic victory by capturing the location.

The Kremlin kicked off a major offensive in the Avdiivka sector on Oct. 10-12. An account of initial Russian losses is included in an earlier Kyiv Post report, which you can read here.

General Zaluzhny, said in comments to the Economist magazine published on Thursday that at one point during the Avdiivka battle, he was watching live video feed that showed 140 Russian combat vehicles burning.

47th Mechanized Brigade, which was a newly-raised AFU formation created in April 2022, is equipped with US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and German Leopard 2 tanks.

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The industrial city, which had an estimated pre-war population of more than 700,000 people, lies around 35 kilometres from the nearest Russian positions.

The brigade suffered substantial losses in June in a series of unsuccessful attempts to break through Russian defenses in the southern Zaporizhzhia sector.

The senior commander of the 47th, Yury Sak, was removed from his job in September, the reasons for which AFU command did not make public.

The brigade was transferred to the eastern Adviivka sector later that month.