ISW: Russian offensive near Avdiivka highlights Russia's improving ability to apply battlefield lessons.

Russian forces launched localized attacks on Avdiivka in the early hours of Oct.

10, following intensive artillery preparations. Geolocated footage from Oct.

10 and 11 confirms Russian troop advancements southwest of Avdiivka near Sieverne and northwest of Avdiivka near Stepove and Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Up to three Russian battalions, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, intensified their offensive operations near Avdiivka, the Ukrainian General Staff reported earlier.

Ukrainian General Staff Spokesperson Andrii Kovalev specified that these battalions are part of the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District, involving three motorized rifle brigades. "Russian sources celebrated Russian advances in this area and outlined several adaptations that suggest that Russian forces are applying lessons learned from operations in southern Ukraine to other sectors of the front," the ISW said. The ISW notes that Russian forces' effective use of electronic warfare, counterbattery measures, artillery preparation, aerial reconnaissance, and inter-unit communication aligns with previous Russian claims regarding the strengths of their defense against Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in southern Ukraine, especially during June and July.

"These tactical-level adaptations and successes, however, are unlikely to translate into wider operational and strategic gains for Russian forces," the ISW concludes.

Ukraine war latest: NATO ministers meet to talk Ukraine aid; death toll of Hroza strike rises Key developments on Oct.

11: * Zelensky makes surprise visit to NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels * Russia attacks school in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's Nikopol, killing 2 * Austin: F-16s could arrive in Ukraine as early as next spring * International donors pledge up to £530 million to U...

Development Manager, Canadian Correspondent

Olena Goncharova is a development manager and Canadian correspondent for the Kyiv Independent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper's Canadian correspondent in June 2018.

She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master's degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months.

The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.