Avdiivka is reportedly captured by Russia after Ukraine leaves the important city

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has hailed his army’s conquest of the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, calling it an “important victory” following Kyiv’s earlier withdrawal of its forces. Located in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine, Avdiivka is a key city situated north of Donetsk, the regional centre.

Avdiivka’s seizure was reported to Putin by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting at the Kremlin on Saturday. Shoigu described Avdiivka as a “powerful defensive hub” for the armed forces of Ukraine. It is anticipated that the seizure will move the front line further from Donetsk, reducing Ukraine’s capacity to bombard the Russian stronghold. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, praised the fighters and military and expressed Putin’s congrats on their accomplishment.

Under the command of Oleksandr Syrskyii, the new army chief, Ukrainian forces left Avdiivka prior to the capture. In a major military shuffle, Syrskyii, who took over as commander recently, declared, “I decided to withdraw our units from the town and move to defence from more favourable lines to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”

One of the fiercest battles of the two-year conflict has been for Avdiivka, an industrial area less than 10 km (six miles) north of the Donetsk city under Russian control.