Russia claims Avdiivka but says Ukrainian soldiers holed up in coking plant By Reuters

By Guy Faulconbridge and Tom Balmforth

MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) – Russia claimed capture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine’s withdrawal, but Moscow said some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coking plant after one of the country’s most intense battles. war. .

The fall of Avdiivka is Russia’s biggest gain since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, and comes almost exactly two years since President Vladimir Putin triggered a full-scale war by ordering an invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine said it had withdrawn its soldiers to prevent troops from being completely surrounded after months of fierce fighting. Putin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as a major victory and congratulated the Russian troops.

After Ukraine’s failure to break through Russian lines last year, Moscow has sought to crush Ukrainian forces just as Kiev mulls a new major mobilization and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appoints a new commander to wage the war.

“The head of state congratulated the Russian soldiers on this success, an important victory,” the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.

But Russia said some Ukrainian forces were still holed up at the Soviet-era coke factory, once one of Europe’s largest, in Avdiivka, which is crucial to Russia’s goal of securing full control of the industrial region of Donbas.

“Measures are being taken to completely clear the city of militants and to block the Ukrainian units that have left the city and are entrenched in the Avdiivka chemical and coca plant,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

There has been no public comment from the Ukrainian authorities on this matter yet.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Russia captured about 32 square kilometers (12 square miles) of territory during the advance, despite heavy losses to Ukraine. He did not provide data on Russian losses, which Ukraine says are huge.

Putin sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, triggering full-scale war after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces on one side and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian representatives on the other.

Avdiivka, which before the war had a population of about 32,000 and is called Avdeyevka by Russians, was taken briefly in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists who seized a swath of eastern Ukraine, but was retaken by Ukrainian troops who built extensive fortifications.

SHORTAGE OF WEAPONS

US President Joe Biden had warned that Avdiivka could fall into the hands of Russian forces due to ammunition shortages after months of Republican congressional opposition to a new US military aid package for Kiev.

A White House statement said Biden called Zelenskiy on Saturday to underline the US commitment to continuing support for Ukraine and reiterated the need for Congress to urgently pass the package.

The White House said the withdrawal was forced on Ukraine “by dwindling supplies due to congressional inaction,” which forced Ukrainian soldiers to ration ammunition and led to “Russia’s first notable gains in months “.

Zelenskiy urged allies at a global security conference in Munich on Saturday to fill an “artificial” weapons shortage and said stalling US aid was imperative. He praised his troops for “exhausting” Russian forces at Avdiivka and suggested the withdrawal was partly caused by a lack of weapons.

“Now (the army) will replenish itself, wait for the necessary weapons, of which there simply were not enough, they are simply not enough,” he said. “Russia has long-range weapons, while we simply don’t have enough of them.”

In a post on X, Zelenskiy expressed hope that the US Congress will make a “wise decision”.

PUSH FOR RUSSIA

Avdiivka’s capture is likely to give Russia a morale boost ahead of Putin’s re-election bid next month, which he is almost certain to win.

It is also seen as another step toward securing Moscow’s control over the regional center of Donetsk, about 20 km (12 miles) to the east, held by Russian and pro-Russian forces since 2014.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine provided details of losses suffered in the war or the intense battle for Avdiivka. Western intelligence assessments say hundreds of thousands of men on both sides have been killed or wounded during the war.

Putin congratulated the Russian commander responsible for the assault on Avdiivka, Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev.

“Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the fulfillment of the tasks of the special military operation!” Putin said this in a telegram.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Avdiivka demonstrated the need for modern air defense systems to counter guided bombs and long-range weapons to destroy enemy formations. He said artillery shells were also needed.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who took command of the Ukrainian army last week, said Ukrainian forces had returned to safer positions outside the city “to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of the military.”

Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, which officials said was deployed to Avdiivka this week, said on Telegram that it had retreated to prepared positions on the outskirts of Avdiivka and had leveled the front line.

“At this time the Russians are not slowing down their assault. We continue to hold the line in the Avdiivka area,” it read.

Separately, Ukrainian forces repelled the Russian offensive on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia area, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Sunday.

There are no comments on the matter yet from the Russian side.