Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday congratulated his army on an “important victory” during the capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, the epicenter of months-long fighting, AFP reports.

• “Vladimir Putin listened to the report of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremlin about the capture of Avdiyivka. The president congratulated our soldiers and our fighters on this important victory,” said presidential spokesman Dmytro Peskov, quoted by press agencies. Russian

“Under the continuous fire of the Russian troops, only a few separate formations of Ukrainian fighters managed to leave Avdiivka in a hurry, leaving behind weapons and military equipment,” the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported.

Russia said on Saturday that its forces had inflicted a series of defeats on Ukrainian forces along a 1,000-kilometer frontline, just as Ukrainian forces were withdrawing from the devastated eastern city of Avdiyivka.

Ukraine announced its withdrawal from the eastern city on Saturday after the order of the army commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, to stay away from the encirclement.

The withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdiivka paves the way for Russia’s biggest victory since the capture of Bakhmut in May 2023 after a battle that left thousands dead in the devastated city.

After Ukraine failed to break through Russian borders last year, Moscow has sought to destroy Ukrainian forces just as Kyiv is considering a major new mobilization and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is appointing a new commander to lead the war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the withdrawal, saying it was the “correct” decision to “save as many lives as possible” as Ukrainian soldiers tried to resist an onslaught of Russian troops.

“It was a professional decision to save as many lives as possible (…) it was the right decision,” the President of Ukraine emphasized at the Munich Security Conference in southern Germany.

Putin’s victory before the presidential elections

The victory of the Russian military occurred a month before the presidential elections of Russia, which are scheduled for March 15-17.

This is the first election since Vladimir Putin amended the Constitution to be able to run for two more seats after having already held four since 1999.

After his first two terms, the most powerful man in the Kremlin served as prime minister for four years, from 2008 to 2012, due to term limits that no longer exist, after which he was re-elected twice.

Read the most important information from the 724th day of the war in Ukraine LIVE here on HotNews.ro.