What the Kharkiv and Avdiivka reports showed by 25 October 2023
A look back at two frontline reports from the days before 25 October 2023, one from Kharkiv and one from Donetsk Oblast.
What did the regions of Ukraine face in the days leading up to 25 October 2023? Two reports from that period show pressure on opposite ends of the front line, one on civilian infrastructure and one on a contested town.
On 21 October 2023, a Russian missile struck a postal office in Kharkiv. Six workers were killed and 16 others were injured. The target was a civilian service facility, and the casualties were the people who worked there.
On 20 October 2023, Ukrainian forces repelled Russian forces from Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, according to the Ukrainian side. It said that at least 175 vehicles had been destroyed, including 55 tanks. This was part of what was described as the Battle of Avdiivka.
Taken together, the two reports set out the regional picture as it stood in late October 2023. In Kharkiv, strikes hit infrastructure and caused civilian casualties. In Avdiivka, the fighting centred on a town where Ukrainian forces reported they had held back a Russian assault. The reports do not go further than this, and the later course of both places lies outside the scope of this look back.
