On 30 March, the Ukrainian defence forces repelled what may have been one of the largest-scale tank assaults of Russia’s 25-month wider war on Ukraine in the Avdiyivka sector. During the fighting, the enemy lost a third of its tanks, Forbes writes.
"It ended up being one of the biggest tank losses in the entire 25-month war between Russia and Ukraine. When the smoke cleared, the Russians had left behind a third of their tanks," Forbes writes.
According to the newspaper, for weeks prior to the Saturday assault, the Russian had been using infantry to advance west of the city. The reason was that they lacked vehicles after suffering heavy losses during the capture of Avdiyivka in mid-February.
However, the situation has changed and the Russian army has reintroduced the employment of armoured vehicles, including tanks, in the Avdiyivka direction.
Thirty-six tanks and 12 BMP fighting vehicles from the Russian army's 6th Tank Regiment, part of the 90th Tank Division, attacked along a road threading from Russian-occupied Tonenke toward the free village of Umanske, two miles to the west.
Ukraine's 25th Brigade spotted the 48-vehicle column—and hit it hard. Twelve tanks and eight BMPs were taken out.
The day after the assault, the Centre for Defence Strategies described the fighting around Tonenke as "positional", meaning neither side significantly was advancing.
Forbes suggests that, despite a severe shortage of ammunition, Ukrainian brigades are still able to counter the Russian army with mines, artillery, anti-tank missiles and attack drones.