New Delhi: Ukraine has suffered a severe setback with its heavily defended town of Avdiivka in the east falling to Russian forces. On Monday, the latter captured a coke and chemical plant in the town where the Ukrainians had continued to hold out.
This comes as Russia’s biggest gain in its nearly two-year-long war against Ukraine after the capture of Bakhmut in May 2023. Avdiivka, 15 km north of Russian-controlled Donetsk, is one of the five major towns on Ukraine’s eastern border that has come under heavy Russian pressure over the last few months.
“The units of the Tsentr Group of Forces under the command of Colonel General Andrei Mordvichyov have taken full control of Avdiivka (Donetsk People’s Republic), which was a powerful defensive node of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said the Russian defence ministry in a statement on the social messaging application Telegram Sunday.
Russia began efforts to capture Avdiivka in October 2023 but faced several casualties. Its forces had captured roughly 32 square kilometres of area, but the Ukrainian forces had continued to hold out in the coke plant on the town’s northwestern edges before their eventual withdrawal.
“The liberation of Avdiivka has made it possible to move the frontline away from Donetsk, thereby making it significantly safer from terrorist attacks by the Kyiv criminal regime,” the Russian defence ministry statement added.
Russian-supported separatists briefly captured Avdiivka in 2014. However, Ukrainian forces swiftly recaptured the town and turned it into a key defensive fortification for Kyiv. Before the war started, Avdiivka had a population of roughly 32,000 people.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandry Syrskyi of the Ukrainian armed forces in a statement published on Facebook said, “Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defence on more favourable lines.”
According to The New York Times, the Russian assault along the 1,000 km frontline in eastern Ukraine is split into five lines — Avdiivka, Mariinka, Bakhmut, Robotyne and Kreminna. While Russia captured Bakhmut last year, Ukraine has now officially withdrawn from Avdiivka. Mariinka has fallen to Russia, too. Ukraine managed to recapture Robotyne during its offensive last year, but Russia has amassed 1,10,000 troops in the area of Kreminna as it continues an offensive to push forward through the two towns, added the report.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also read: Explainer-Why is Avdiivka important and why does Russia want to capture it?