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Ukraine war: Russia gets morale boost as Kyiv withdraws forces from Avdiivka to ‘preserve lives’ of its servicemen
- Reports emerged that Ukrainian troops in the bombed-out city faced a deteriorating situation, where its forces are outnumbered 7-to-1 by Russia
- The timing is critical, as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary on February 24 of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
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Ukraine’s military chief said early on Saturday that he is withdrawing troops from the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, where outnumbered defenders battled a Russian assault for four months.
The timing is critical, as Russia is looking for a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary on February 24 of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the March presidential election in Russia.
In a short statement posted on Facebook on Saturday, Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had made the decision to avoid encirclement and “preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”
We are taking measures to stabilise the situation and maintain our positions
The commander-in-chief added that troops were moving to “more favourable lines”.
“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.
“We are taking measures to stabilise the situation and maintain our positions,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to plug what he characterised as an “artificial” shortage of weapons that is strengthening the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.
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