Russian forces are pushing west of Avdiivka, according to Russian sources, as Ukraine hopes to block further advances after Moscow captured the key eastern strategic city.
Influential Russian military bloggers claimed that Moscow’s troops advanced west of the village of Lastochkyne, the U.S. think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Sunday. Russian sources also claimed the Kremlin had captured the village of Sieverne, to the west of Avdiivka, and Stepove, northwest of the Russian-controlled city, the think tank noted, adding it couldn’t independently confirm the reported advances.
Ukraine pulled its troops from the destroyed Donetsk city of Avdiivka, northwest of the regional capital, Donetsk City, after more than four months of bitter fighting earlier in February. It was the first major victory for Russia since it captured the Donetsk city of Bakhmut after a long assault in May 2023.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian defense ministry and the Ukrainian military for comment on the latest reports.
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Kyiv said following Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka that it had established new defensive lines around Lastochkyne and the nearby villages of Novobakhmutivka and Pervomaiske, with its forces “successfully repelling attempts by the Russian invaders to develop an offensive.”
Ukrainian forces had relocated to the western edges of Lastochkyne, Dmytro Lykhovyi, a spokesperson for Kyiv’s forces covering the area, said on Sunday in remarks reported by Ukrainian media.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday that its forces had taken up “more advantageous lines and positions,” without giving further details. Moscow said in its daily update that it had “repelled” seven Ukrainian attacks around Lastochkyne, Novobakhmutivka and two other villages along the Donetsk frontline.
Ukraine’s military said on Monday it had fought off 25 Russian attacks around Sieverne, Stepove and Lastochkyne, as well as around the village of Berdychi, immediately west of Stepove, and Nevelske, southwest of Avdiivka.
Institute for the Study of War
The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops was a significant blow to Kyiv just ahead of the second anniversary of all-out war in the country. Capturing Avdiivka was a strategic and symbolic victory for Moscow, with Russian troops raising flags in the former Ukrainian stronghold that weathered a decade on the frontlines.
Kyiv said it had pulled its troops to save the lives of its fighters.
“We are preserving our people, our warriors, because this is what defense is all about,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address at the Munich Security Conference in Germany shortly after the military’s announcement.
The city had become a “meat grinder,” a term used to describe battlegrounds that rack up high casualty counts and absorb significant resources such as armored vehicles. It isn’t clear how many casualties Ukraine sustained, but losses are thought to be heavy.
About 17,000 Russian soldiers were killed between October 10, 2023, when Russia launched its assault on the Donetsk city, and February 17, 2024, Ukraine’s Lykhovyi said.
A further 30,000 Russian fighters were wounded, he said. The commander of the Tavria group, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, earlier said Russia had lost more than 47,000 troops in the fighting for the city.
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