KYIV, Ukraine: The Ukrainian armed forces said on Friday that troops were withdrawing from the besieged city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Col. Gen. Alexander Sirsky, said troops were withdrawing to “save the lives and health of soldiers” and to move to a more favourable position.
In a statement, Sirsky said their soldiers did their best to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses in manpower and equipment to the enemy. “We use measures to stabilize the situation and maintain occupied positions. The life of military is the highest value.”
Avdiivka became a key battleground in the war in the past few months as Russian forces assaulted the position as part of an overall strategy to take the rest of the Donetsk region in Ukraine.
The White House had warned this week that Russian forces were about to taking the city as Ukrainian soldiers struggle with limited reserves and depleting ammunition. The last of the US military aid for Ukrainian army ran out at end 2023, and the US Congress has yet to approve a new package.
A senior US defecse official told media on Friday that Ukraine faces challenges across the entire front from Russian offensives if more aid is not sanctioned.
“We see this as something that could be the harbinger of what is to come if we do not get this supplemental funding,” the official said of city Avdiivka.
Russian forces began assaulting the town more heavily in October after a Ukrainian counteroffensive began to slow down, which ultimately failed to overcome Russian positions.
The town is located in the center of Donetsk, which Russia is trying to seize full control of along with the remaining portions of the Luhansk region it does not control. Russia currently holds around 18 percent of Ukraine in the eastern and southeastern regions.
While Avdiivka alone does not give Russia a major advantage, it could help Moscow launch more offensives toward the rest of Donetsk. Ukraine has defended its positions vigorously in Avdiivka, including in an embattled coke and chemical plant near the town.
The withdrawal is likely to give Moscow another symbolic victory, with the town falling after the city of Bakhmut fell last spring and after Russia’s successful defense against the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
With the battlefield shifting in his favour and crucial Western aid to Ukraine in doubt, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown a more optimistic and public face in the past few months, including doing a major sit-down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Moscow.
Still, Russia has lost a considerable number of forces in the war, with some 315,000 killed or wounded, according to the latest U.S. estimates. Ukraine has damaged the Russian fleet on the Black Sea, forcing them to withdraw from the historic headquarters in Crimea.
The Biden administration still warned that without another aid package, Ukraine faces steep challenges against a larger Russian army supported by a boosted defense industry.
