Russia’s astounding number of military hardware losses in Avdiivka will haunt Putin’s forces next year

Russia has recently suffered serious military equipment losses in its latest offensive surrounding the Ukrainian village of Avdiivka — and that’ll likely hurt Moscow’s future offensive capabilities, according to war analysts.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, said in an assessment on Thursday that satellite imagery confirmed that the Russian military lost at least 109 armored vehicles and tanks near the eastern region of Avdiivka between October 10 and October 20 amid Moscow’s grinding war with Ukraine.

“Heavy Russian equipment losses around Avdiivka will likely undermine Russian offensive capabilities over the long term,” ISW researchers said in the assessment.

The village of Avdiivka, just northwest of occupied Donetsk, has seen major battlefield fighting over the past few weeks as Russia launched a renewed offensive against Ukrainian troops.

“The Russian command has funneled additional forces to the Avdiivka front to offset heavy manpower losses and maintain the Russian military’s ability to sustain its ongoing offensive effort,” ISW said.

But, the think tank explained, Russia’s recent equipment losses around Avdiivka “will likely lead to even more pronounced Russian equipment shortages and setbacks for any progress that the Russian military has made in addressing degraded mechanized maneuver warfare capabilities.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russia has lost “at least a brigade” of troops in Moscow’s offensive on Avdiivka.

“The invaders made several attempts to surround Avdiivka, but each time our soldiers stopped them and threw them back, causing painful losses. In these cases, the enemy lost at least a brigade,” Zelenskyy told British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a call, his office said in a statement, according to Reuters.

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