Avdiivka: Ukraine says its forces are withdrawing after months of fighting in besieged city
Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from the besieged eastern city of Avdiivka, after months of fighting.
The industrial city was briefly captured by pro-Russian forces in 2014 before the Ukrainians re-took it and installed major fortifications. The nearly-destroyed city has been trapped in the centre of brutal fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion.
The new Commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, General Colonel Syrskyi, reportedly said his soldiers performed their military duty with dignity.
Reportedly, Colonel General Syrskyi said in a statement: "I decided to withdraw our units from the town and move to defence from more favourable lines in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.
"Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment.
"In a situation where the enemy is advancing on the corpses of their own soldiers, with a ten-to-one shell advantage, under constant bombardment, this is the only correct solution."
In a recent intelligence update, the MOD described the city of Avdiivka as being 'on the frontline in the Donbas since 2014.'
They also said that at least 400 Russian tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and thousands of personnel have also perished in the battle for the city.
The Russian Armed Forces have been making efforts to conquer the city since October 2023.
Military analyst Sean Bell says Avdiivka has been battered by Russian forces since October and told Sky: "Russian warplanes have been pounding the site with up to 60 bombs a day.
"Artillery pounding, all of which, of course, means that Ukraine is also probably running short of surface-to-air missiles as well, so it’s been a particularly vicious and costly fight for this relatively small town."
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