• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Putin congratulates military on "important victory" in Avdiivka

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon / 19 February 2024 / 09:48

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday hailed his army's capture of the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as an "important victory", following a hasty withdrawal by the Ukrainian forces.

Tehran -ISNA- "The President congratulated our military and fighters on such an important victory, on such a success," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state news agencies.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Putin about the achievement in a meeting at the Kremlin, his ministry said in a statement.

Avdiivka was a "powerful defensive hub" for Ukraine's armed forces and its capture would "move the front line away from Donetsk," reducing Ukraine's ability to shell the Russian stronghold, the Defense Ministry said.

The losses of Ukrainian troops in the battle for Avdiivka amounted to over 1,500 servicepeople over the past 24 hours, the Ministry also highlighted.

Kiev had earlier announced the withdrawal of its forces from the town, which it said was taken to reduce military casualties at a time of stretched resources.

"At the moment, measures are being taken to finally clear the town of militants and to block the Ukrainian units that have left the town and are holed up in the Avdiivka coke plant" to the north, the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out.

In a related context, Ukrainian military commander of the Tavria operational group, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, admitted on Saturday that a number of Ukrainian troops had been captured during retreat from their stronghold in Avdiivka.

"The withdrawal of personnel from Avdiivka took place in accordance with a plan designed with consideration of different scenarios and a possible change in the operational situation. And yet, at the final stage of the operation, under pressure from superior enemy forces, several Ukrainian servicepeople were captured," Tarnavskyi said in a statement quoted by the Ukrainian newspaper Strana.

End Item