A dead Russian soldier lies in the rubble of a trench in Avdivka, Ukraine, on December 23, 2023, in the Russian-Ukrainian War.

 　　A dead Russian soldier lies in the rubble of a trench in Avdivka, Ukraine, on December 23, 2023, in the Russian-Ukrainian War. Bodies left in unoccupied trenches can sit for months, reeking of decay. Trenches save lives, but on the other hand it is impossible to escape from them, and the trenches can become graveyards.

　The Battle of Avdiivka was a major battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces for control of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast; after more than a year and a half of intermittent fighting on the outskirts, Russian forces captured the city of Donetsk. The Russians launched an offensive to occupy Avdiivka on October 10, 2023, and the bloodiest battle of all took place. In the battle of Avdiivka alone, the Russians lost about 10,000 more soldiers. Including others, the Ukrainian military announced on February 25, 2024, a death toll of 31,000 from the Russian military invasion two years earlier.

　Avdiivka, the gateway to the nearby provincial capital of Donetsk, was one of the most heavily fortified settlements in Ukraine. With Ukrainian forces in control of Avdivka, the Russians were able to prevent a Russian breakthrough, as the city of Donetsk and its resources were no longer a communications hub; on February 17, 2024, the last Ukrainian supply route to the city was threatened, and to avoid a Russian siege and protect the lives and health of military personnel, Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Avdiivka. The capture of Avdiivka was the largest territorial incursion for Russian forces since they occupied Bakhmut in May 2023.

　With the expansion of the armaments of both armies, the war became more and more a battle of positions and the trenches became deeper and wider. In contrast to maneuver warfare, which was based on the mobility of armies and massive encirclements, positional warfare was based on the destruction of enemy resources through firepower attacks. Soldiers from both armies retreated to their trenches in the spring and fall, when heavy rains filled the trenches with water and left them waiting in the sinking mud By the end of 2023, the Russian and Ukrainian armies were caught in a never-ending cycle of offensive and waste, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. In the Russian trenches, soldiers were dispersed, preventing annihilation by a single enemy blow. Fortified trenches had to be at least two meters deep. Artillery fire and drones circled incessantly overhead.