Reports from Avdiivka have been conflicting, with some discussing the rapid advance of Russian forces and others highlighting the stubborn defense by Ukrainians. According to Col. Väli, this is understandable as it reflects the situation on the ground, where Ukrainians are conducting mobile defense operations.

"When the Ukrainians decided to withdraw from Avdiivka, moving units out in parts, the Russians immediately advanced. The Russians attempted to mine the Ukrainians' retreat paths, but the Ukrainians managed to avoid them, and later the Russians ran into their own minefields. There's a lot of confusion. Three large villages have fallen under Russian control, but there have also been local counterattacks," said Väli.

Väli noted that the front line is a thousand kilometers long, and the "great" victory that Russian media presented before the presidential elections, capturing Avdiivka, actually involved a village of average size by Ukrainian standards.

"For example, they managed to destroy an Abrams tank and presented it as if Western military technology is failing, which is not true. If, over six months, one Western tank, that same Abrams, has been hit, then 14-15 Russian tanks are destroyed every day," Väli said.

Many in Russia believe that the price paid for capturing Avdiivka was too high, he added.

"It's somewhat like a Pyrrhic victory – there's debate whether as many men have fallen as the Soviet Union's limited contingent in Afghanistan, or twice as many. The number of casualties is so high that it has prompted Russian far-right figures to speak up and question: what is this, can this be called a victory?" said Väli.

With Ukrainian forces engaged in mobile defense operations, the question now is how well they were able to construct suitable defensive structures near Avdiivka in three months. Likely, these are not at the level Ukraine's forces currently need to maintain their positions, but it's clear that construction is underway, he added.

"We hope that, despite the very poor situation with ammunition, the Ukrainians can now go on the defensive and hold the line. But at the moment, it seems that their mobile defense operation is very successful," Väli said.

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