Ukrainian Military Withdraws Troops from Avdiivka: Latest Updates and Analysis 2024

2024-02-17 03:25:42
2024-02-17 10:18 Compiled by Lianhe Daily: Xu Yuhan/Real-time reporting

The BBC reported that the Ukrainian military announced that it is currently withdrawing troops from Avdiivka, an important strategic town in eastern Ukraine. The area has been besieged by Russian troops for months.

Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi confirmed that the Ukrainian army is withdrawing from Avdiivka, saying that this action is to “avoid being surrounded by Russian troops and protect the lives and health of soldiers.” Now the troops are Moved to a “more favorable front.”

Avdiivka is an important gateway to the Russian-occupied Donetsk (Donetsk). In recent months, Ukraine and Russia have fought fierce battles here, and now it is almost completely destroyed.

If Afdiivka is captured, it will represent the Russian army’s most important battlefield victory since they captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May last year.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby earlier warned that Russia was sending waves of troops to attack Ukrainian positions and that Avdivka was at risk of falling into Russian control, mainly due to the ammunition of Ukrainian ground forces. About to run out.

[Central News Agency’s Comprehensive Foreign News Report from Kyiv on the 17th]

Avdiivka is only regarding 24 kilometers away from the capital of Donetsk occupied by the Russian army. It is the gateway to Donetsk and has been involved in fierce fighting for months.

The coking plant in Avdivka was once the largest coking coal producer in Ukraine and became the economic pillar and symbol of the Donbas region in Ukraine. However, since 2014, pro-Russian militiamen have taken control of Donetsk, Luxembourg in the Donbas. After Gansk (Luhansk) occupied a large area of ​​land in the two oblasts, Avdiivka became the front line of the battle between government forces and pro-Russian militias. Moscow says Ukraine has been shelling pro-Russian areas from Avdiivka for eight years.

The BBC believes that if Avdivka falls, it will be another major gain for the Russian army on the Donbas front since it captured Bakhmut in May 2023.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it has successively carried out attacks in Mariupol, the port city of Unang, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, and Bakhmut, the twin cities of Ukraine and East. Wait for the siege to be won.

Selsky posted a statement on Facebook early on the 17th, saying that he made the decision to evacuate based on the “fighting situation around Avdivka.”

He said: “Our officers and soldiers solemnly performed their military duties, tried their best to destroy Russia’s best military units, and caused heavy combat losses to the enemy’s personnel and equipment.”

Sersky, who was promoted to commander-in-chief of the army by Ukrainian President Zelensky just last week, said that the Ukrainian army is “taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain its position.”

However, some Ukrainian military officers and soldiers privately admitted that Afdiivka may fall at any time.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warned earlier that Avdievka “is at risk of falling under Russian control” mainly because “Ukrainian ground forces are running out of ammunition.”

Ukraine relies heavily on the United States and Western allies to supply weapons to resist Russian forces. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg alleged on the 15th that the United States’ delay in approving continued military assistance to Ukraine has had an impact on the battlefield.

The Ukrainian military announced that it is currently withdrawing troops from Avdiivka, an important strategic town in eastern Ukraine.Reuters Ukraine Russia Russo-Ukrainian War

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