Ukraine: The Head of Ukraine’s army has declared that his forces are pulling out from the frontline city of Avdiivka. Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has remarked that, the military bosses have concluded to “avoid encirclement” and “preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”
In a social media post, the commander-in-chief has stated that, “Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defence on more favourable lines.”
Syrskyi has said that, despite the retreat, Ukrainian troops had inflicted “significant losses on the enemy” in terms of manpower and equipment in the battle for the city, which is located on the outskirts of the eastern city of Donetsk.
The withdrawal is one of the most significant changes to the frontline since Russia captured Bakhmut in May last year. The change comes after weeks of fighting in the city. The Russians have tried to advance on the city since October and surrounded it on three sides, leaving Ukrainian forces with limited resupply routes.
According to the reports, nearly two years after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has captured the eastern city as part of a plan to gain full control of the two provinces in the industrialized Donbass region. The city, once home to around 30,000 residents, is now thought to have just over 1,000 people and is located north of Donetsk.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), has quoted that, “The capture of Avdiivka does not offer avenues for operationally significant advances in eastern Ukraine. Russia will seek to complicate or prevent the Ukrainian withdrawal, in hopes of inflicting operationally significant losses on Ukrainian forces in the area.”
According to a Telegram post by Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the south-eastern sector of Ukraine, the units were removed from the city with minor losses. The commander has said that, “In a difficult battlefield situation, when only ruins and a pile of broken bricks remain from the fortification, our priority is to save the soldiers’ lives.”
The Third Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine’s most prominent combat units, had recently hurried to Avdiivka to reinforce the troops. The brigade explained the concern in the city as “hell” and “threatening and unstable”, but it overran parts of the city against Russian forces and inflicted heavy casualties.
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a 10-year security deal with France, hours after agreeing a similar deal with Germany. The agreement provides an additional package worth €3billion (£2.56billion) in military aid this year. This is the largest annual amount that France given to Ukraine since the war began.
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