Russia makes its biggest gain since capturing Bakhmut in May as war with Ukraine is set to enter its third year
\nAvdiivka
\nRussia says it has full control of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdrew, adding that some Ukrainian troops are still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant following one of the most intense battles of the war.
\nThe fall of Avdiivka is Russia\u2019s biggest gain since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023 and comes almost two years to the day since President Vladimir Putin triggered a full-scale war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine.
\nRussia\u2019s Ministry of Defence on Sunday said its troops had advanced 8.6km (5.3 miles) in that part of the 1,000km (621-mile) front line, and that Russian troops were pressing forward after a deadly urban battle that has left the town an almost completely depopulated wreck.
\nPutin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as an important victory and congratulated Russian troops.
\n\u201cThe head of state congratulated Russian soldiers on this success, an important victory,\u201d the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.
\nUkraine said it had withdrawn its soldiers to save troops from being fully surrounded after months of fierce fighting. Moscow has been trying to grind down Ukrainian forces just as Kyiv ponders a major new mobilisation and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appoints a new commander to run the war.
\nBut Russia said some Ukrainian forces were still holed up at the Soviet-era coke plant, once one of Europe\u2019s biggest, in Avdiivka, which is key to Russia\u2019s aim of securing full control of the industrial Donbas region.
\n\u201cMeasures are being taken to completely clear the town of militants and to block Ukrainian units that have left the town and are entrenched at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant,\u201d Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
\nRussian state television showed blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags being taken down in Avdiivka and Russia\u2019s white, blue and red tricolour flag raised, including over the coke plant. There was no public comment yet by Ukrainian authorities on this.
\nPutin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the full-scale war after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces on the one side and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies on the other.
\nAvdiivka, which is called Avdeyevka by Russians, has endured a decade of conflict. It holds particular symbolism for Russia as it was briefly taken in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists who seized a swath of eastern Ukraine but was then recaptured by Ukrainian troops who built extensive fortifications.
\nControl over the city was key to Moscow\u2019s efforts to secure full control of the industrial Donbas region. Losing Avdiivka represents a significant blow for Ukraine which has been facing growing challenges in repelling Russian forces amid great ammunition shortages and limited manpower.
\nCapturing Avdiivka is likely to provide a morale boost for Russia ahead of Putin\u2019s bid for re-election next month, which he is almost certain to win.
\nIt is also seen as another step towards securing Moscow\u2019s hold on the regional centre of Donetsk, about 20km (12.4 miles) to the east, held by Russian and pro-Russian forces since 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia makes its biggest gain since capturing Bakhmut in May as war with Ukraine is set to enter its third year Avdiivka Russia says it has full control of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdrew, adding that some Ukrainian troops are still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant following one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-387961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n