In 2014, pro-Russian separatists invaded and briefly captured Avdiivka. Ukrainian forces reclaimed control of the city and fortified it, but the fighting continued. A major uptick in violence in 2017 created a humanitarian crisis in the city. Today, it is largely destroyed. Avdiivka’s prewar population of over 30,000 has shrunk to around 1,000 residents, the Associated Press reported, citing city officials. The remaining residents mostly live underground, Reuters reported.
Avdiivka has strategic and logistical value for Moscow. The Defense Ministry said Saturday that capturing Avdiivka would push the front line of the war farther from Donetsk city, making it more difficult for Ukraine to stage attempts to reclaim the regional capital.
The withdrawal will also boost Russian morale ahead of the second anniversary of the war on Feb. 24 and reinforce concerns about Ukraine’s dwindling military supplies and personnel.
The Institute for the Study of War think tank said Russia’s advance into Avdiivka highlights the importance of air defenses. Russia was able, in the last days of its offensive, to provide “close air support” for its forces on the ground, according to the ISW.
Citing Ukrainian military officials and soldiers, the ISW said Russian forces launched large numbers of glide bombs — which are modified to glide, rather than fall, to targets and are harder to shoot down — at parts of the city.
“The Russian ability to conduct these mass strikes for several days in the most active part of the frontline suggests that Ukrainian forces were not able to deny them access to the airspace around Avdiivka,” the ISW wrote. “Russian forces likely leveraged this temporary localized air superiority to facilitate the capture of much of the settlement.”
On Saturday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the loss in Avdiivka showed the need for sophisticated air defense systems to prevent Russian forces from using guided bombs.
The comments come as Kyiv has issued dire warnings about the consequences of allies not supplying Ukraine with enough ammunition and weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that “keeping Ukraine in artificial deficits of weapons … allows Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war.”
It was not immediately clear by Sunday whether any Ukrainian troops remained in Avdiivka or inside the coke and chemical plant that was until recently Ukraine’s last stronghold there. Late Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said measures were being taken to “clear the city of militants and to block Ukrainian units that left the city and settled” inside the plant.
In a statement on Sunday, Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky, commander of Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region, said some Ukrainian soldiers were captured during the withdrawal, but he did not specify how many. He added that Ukraine would appeal for the humane treatment of its soldiers via humanitarian organizations and other countries.
What have Ukraine and Russia said?
The withdrawal of Ukraine’s troops set off a war of messaging between Kyiv and Moscow, as Ukrainian officials tried to put a positive spin on the pullout and Russian officials rushed to frame it as a symbolic victory.
Syrsky, the Ukrainian military chief who was recently appointed to the position, said the pullout would allow Kyiv to “move to defense on more favorable lines” and claimed that Ukrainian troops “inflicted significant losses” on Russian forces during the operation. In a statement Sunday, Tarnavsky said that between Oct. 10, 2023, and Feb. 17, 2024, over 1,300 Russian tanks, planes, artillery systems and armored vehicles were destroyed. The Washington Post could not independently verify the claim.
Zelensky said in an interview late Saturday that the decision to withdraw from Avdiivka was “well-balanced” and that it helped save Ukrainian troops’ lives.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin congratulated his country’s military “on such an important victory and success” in Avdiivka. Peskov said Putin would personally honor members of the Russian Air Force who took part in the operation in Avdiivka.
How has the United States reacted?
Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka comes as a roughly $60 billion aid package proposed by President Biden remains blocked by Republicans in Congress.
The White House, in a statement following a call between Biden and Zelensky on Saturday, said Ukraine’s defeat in the city was the “result of congressional inaction.”
During the call, Biden “emphasized the need for Congress to urgently pass the national security supplemental funding bill to resupply Ukrainian forces,” the White House said.
Alex Horton, Andrew Jeong, John Hudson and Isabelle Khurshudyan contributed to this report.
