>>51143
The ongoing offensive takes clay slow but steady since then. But it's just clay, not much more. The battle seems important enough the Finnish mapping group started to note the width of the entrance of the cauldron.
Anyway the going might actually be faster than the Ukrainian offensive was at Orikhiv/Robotyne. I'm hearing from youtubers that the "Storm Z" units, former Wagner mercs are deployed here, and the Wagner at Bakhmut again on the offensive.
The two operations, the first Battle of Bakhmut and this battle at Avdiivka is compared sometimes. The topic comes up that this is another Bakhmut. Could be. I think there is an important difference: "behind" Bakhmut there is Chasiv Yar, another town on an elevation, surrounded by woods and behind a canal. Here it's basically open ground, all the settlements are couple of street villages (not that they cannot be fortified), and the bodies of water situated so the two pincers of the Russian advance can meet at them. For me it seems surrounding Avdiivka could be an easier task than Bakhmut.
I'm really, really curious how the Ukrainian fortification lines are running along the front. Avdiivka is a stronghold and a salient, but are the defensive lines penetrable behind it?
Made some fantasy lines how I imagine it. Is this possible? But I highly suspect the Ukrainian trenches and strongpoints are more in depth, they might have some strong fortifications at Pokrovsk, and even before at the towns, and heights if there's any. I also suspect the Russian defense lines were influenced by the Ukrainian ones. They gathered info, studied it, they fought against it, and they concluded they needed similar. So what can we see, might mirror the Ukrainian in some way.