Russian military seizes large amount of NATO weapons at Avdeevka factory

Video of weapons and ammunition discovered by the Russian military at the Avdeevka chemical and coke plant. (Source: RT)

A video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on February 25 shows that the country's military seized a large amount of NATO-made weapons and ammunition, as well as Starlink satellite terminals at the Avdeevka chemical and coke plant (Donetsk region, Ukraine).

Officials in Moscow said the abandoned hardware was found by Russian strike teams as they entered Europe’s largest coke plant, which has been a key player in Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the region since the conflict erupted in February and has been the scene of fighting for more than three months.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that while inspecting the factory's workshops, the forces discovered abandoned drone control stations with Starlink terminals, along with dozens of anti-tank grenade launchers, ammunition, hand grenades, automatic weapons and NATO-made rations.

“All this was left behind by Ukrainian soldiers as they fled the factory in panic amid heavy Russian military onslaught,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Another video shows a soldier inspecting a communications equipment box, including a relay station. The video also shows an ammunition crate filled with shrapnel for a grenade launcher and a metal crate filled with 12.7mm machine gun ammunition marked “Ministero della Difesa,” suggesting the ammunition may have originated in Italy.

Video of Russian troops entering the Avdeevka chemical and coke plant. (Source: RT)

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ukraine has used Starlink satellite terminals produced by Elon Musk's SpaceX company for both civilian and military purposes, including maintaining communications between military units, controlling drones and directing artillery.

However, in September, Elon Musk angered Kiev by refusing to use Starlink to support an attack on the Russian fleet in Crimea, explaining that he did not want SpaceX to “become a tool in an act of war and escalation of a major conflict.”

Russian troops captured both Avdeevka and a chemical plant north of the city late last week. Moscow claims the retreat turned into a chaotic rout in which more than 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.

Avdeevka, which has been under Ukrainian control since 2014, is often used by Kiev to shell the city of Donetsk, 10 km away.

Taking control of Avdeevka is considered Russia's biggest victory since capturing Bakhmut in May 2023. Some Western experts believe that Moscow will expand its frontline by another 50-60 km after taking control of Avdeevka, thereby opening the way to other cities such as Konstantinovka in the north and getting closer to the goal of complete control of Donetsk province.

Hoa Vu (Source: actualidad.rt.com)

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