Ukraine announces the complete withdrawal of troops from Avdeevka.
(Baonghean.vn) - The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, announced the withdrawal of all units from the Avdeevka stronghold.
According to Ria Novosti on February 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, announced the withdrawal of all Ukrainian armed forces units from Avdeevka and a shift to a defensive posture.
"Based on the military situation around Avdeevka, I have decided to withdraw our units from the city and switch to a defensive stance," Commander-in-Chief Syrsky wrote on his personal Facebook page.
Ukraine's UNIAN news agency quoted the commander of the Tavria Armed Forces group in Avdeevka, General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, as saying that Ukrainian troops had withdrawn from Avdeevka.
Earlier, the Tavria group announced that Ukrainian troops were withdrawing from positions in Avdeeva, and that some servicemen had been captured in the process.
On February 9th, the 3rd Assault Brigade – one of the two most elite brigades in the Ukrainian armed forces – was deployed to Avdeevka to support the Ukrainian army's withdrawal from the city.
Avdeevka, located in Donetsk and considered the gateway to the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, is a crucial link in Russia's plan to gain complete control of Donbass. After four months of fierce fighting, Russian forces finally breached Avdeevka – a key Ukrainian stronghold located just 8km northwest of the Russian-controlled Donetsk region.