Ukrainian commanders ordered a withdrawal from the eastern city of Avdiivka on Saturday (Feb. 17) in order to cut back its losses and prevent an encirclement similar to what happened in Bakhmut last year.
Russia said that its forces were able to capture the city after months of combat operations, a development that the Kremlin could use to boost morale on the second anniversary of its war with Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
Both the Russian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian military officials reported the significant development of their respective operations in what could now be known in recent history as the "Fall of Avdiivka."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Kremlin that Russian forces were clearing out the final pockets of resistance at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, officials said in a statement.
There were also videos on social media showing troops raising the Russian flag over one of the plant's buildings.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that Vladimir Putin sent a personal message of congratulations to Russian troops in Avdiivka, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that the city's capture was an "important victory."
However, the Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War said earlier this week that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring any significant changes to the 1,500-kilometer front line that remained virtually static in recent months.
Ukraine Warns the West
Aside from Avdiivka, Russia was also being focused after opposition figure Alexei Navalny died in prison on Friday (Feb. 16) while most world leaders were convening at the Munich Security Conference.
The developments happened as Russia was preparing for a presidential election that would guarantee another six-year term for Putin.
Low ammunition supplies and personnel shortage forced Ukraine back on the defensive, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned his nation's allies in Munich that an "artificial deficit" of arms for Ukraine risked giving Russia breathing space and allowed Putin "to adapt to the current intensity of the war."
"Our actions are limited only by ... our strength," he said, pointing to the situation in Avdiivka after Ukrainian military chief Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi ordered the withdrawal of troops to "more favorable lines" to prevent their encirclement and further depletion of combat effectiveness.
"Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment," he said. "We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions."
Syrskyi was earlier criticized for the nine-month-long dogged defense of Bakhmut before the Russians took it.
White House Blames 'Congressional Inaction'
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy and US President Joe Biden discussed Avdiivka over the phone, with the latter remaining confident that Congress would ultimately approve additional funding for Ukraine.
However, when Biden was asked if he was confident that more US funding would come through before Ukraine lost more territory, he responded with a negative.
"I'm not," he told reporters. "Look, Ukrainians have fought so bravely. There is so much on the line. The idea now when they are running out of ammunition [is] that we're going to walk away ... I find it absurd."
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson also called the withdrawal "the cost of Congressional inaction."
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