The situation of Ukrainian troops in the Avdiivka area is becoming more and more difficult, as the former commander of the Aidar battalion (recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia - note by Avia.pro) Evgeniy Dikiy said in an interview. He directly stated that there was a significant advance of Russian troops in the area, which surprised the interviewer. Diky stressed that the Ukrainian side may have to retreat from Avdiivka even before the New Year.

He also mentioned that in other sectors of the front in eastern Ukraine, Russian troops are also advancing, although to a lesser extent.

“In the Avdeevka area, they (Russia – editor’s note) have such significant progress that, to be frank, I talked with the guys from there yesterday, I think that now there is a much greater likelihood that we will be forced to withdraw from Avdeevka, than that we keep her. I would even risk suggesting that we will have to make the decision to leave Avdeevka even before the New Year.”, - said Wild.

This recognition differs significantly from the usual rhetoric, in which Dikiy usually does not acknowledge the complexity of the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

His comments suggest that the territory near the DPR capital may soon be completely liberated from Ukrainian troops. This means that the Ukrainian side will no longer be able to conduct shelling on Donetsk from these positions. It is expected that the new front configuration in this area will run along a conditional line that includes Netaylovo, Yasnobrodovka, Umanskoye, Novopokrovskoye, Solovyevo and Ocheretine.