KYIV: Ukraine General Oleksandr Tarnavsky said on Saturday that they have withdrawn forces from the eastern town of Avdiivka.
AFP reported that it is an important symbolic win for Russia ahead of the February 24 anniversary of the start of the war, and its most important territorial gain since it took control of Bakhmut last May.
In a statement, General Oleksandr Tarnavsky that they took the decision to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.
He said that forces were withdrawn and their soldiers took up defence at the designated lines. This is the first main decision by Ukraine’s new army chief Oleksandr Syrsky after his appointment on February 8, who said it was to preserve the lives of forces and stop their encirclement.
Similarly, in a statement via social media Oleksandr Syrsky said that he decided to withdraw their units from the city and switch to defence on favourable lines. Avdiivka, which had about 34,000 inhabitants before the Russian attack, has significant symbolic value.
