Russia claims capture of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdraws from key city
Al JazeeraPresident Putin hailed ‘important victory’ for Russia after Ukraine said it withdrew to preserve its soldiers’ lives. Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed his army’s capture of the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka as an “important victory”, following an earlier withdrawal by Kyiv’s forces. Avdiivka was a “powerful defensive hub” for Ukraine’s armed forces and its capture would “move the front line away from Donetsk,” reducing Ukraine’s ability to shell the Russian stronghold, the defence ministry said. Before issuing orders to pull out of Avdiivka, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, Ukraine’s army’s commander in the area, said on Friday that several Ukrainian soldiers had been captured by Russian forces. United States President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Avdiivka risked falling to Russian forces because of ammunition shortages following months of Republican congressional opposition to a new US military aid package for Kyiv.