Russia claimed to have captured the Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka after Ukraine withdrew, but Moscow said some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a huge Soviet-era coke plant after one of the heaviest battles of the upcoming war. – the third year, reports Reuters.

The fall of Avdiivka is Russia’s biggest victory since the capture of Bakhmut in May 2023 and comes almost two years after President Vladimir Putin ignited a full-scale war by ordering an invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine said it withdrew its troops to avoid a complete encirclement after months of fierce fighting. Putin called the fall of Avdiivka an important victory and congratulated the Russian troops.

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

“The head of state congratulated the Russian soldiers on this success, an important victory,” the message on the Kremlin’s website reads.

But Russia said some Ukrainian forces were still holed up at a Soviet-era coke plant, once one of the largest in Europe, in Avdiivka, which is central to Russia’s goal of securing full control of the industrial Donbass region.

“Measures are being taken to completely clear the city of militants and block the Ukrainian military, who have left the city and are at the coke-chemical plant in Avdiivka,” said the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Igor Konashenkov.

So far, there have been no public comments on this matter from the Ukrainian authorities.

How much territory did Russia get?

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that Russia captured about 32 square kilometers of territory amid heavy losses for Ukraine. He did not give the figures of Russian losses, which Ukraine calls huge.

Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, provoking full-scale war after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces on one side and pro-Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainians on the other.

Avdiyivka, which before the war had a population of about 32,000 and is called Avdiyivka by Russians, was briefly occupied in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists who seized parts of eastern Ukraine, but was retaken by Ukrainian forces who built extensive fortifications.

Putin’s morale rose before the elections

The capture of Avdiivka could boost Russian morale before Vladimir Putin runs for president in next month’s election, all but assured of a new term in the Kremlin.

It is also seen as another step towards securing Moscow’s control over the regional center of Donetsk, about 20 km to the east, which has been held by Russian and pro-Russian forces since 2014.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine reported the details of the victims in the war and the intense fighting for Avdiivka. Western intelligence estimates that hundreds of thousands of people on both sides were killed or wounded during the war.

Putin congratulated the Russian commander for the storming of Avdiivka, Colonel-General Andrii Mordvichev.

“Eternal glory to the heroes who fell while performing the tasks of a military special operation!” – said Putin.

Kyiv demands weapons

Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov noted that Avdiyivka demonstrated the need for modern air defense systems to counter guided bombs and long-range weapons to destroy enemy formations. According to him, artillery shells are also needed.

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who took command of the Ukrainian army last week as a result of a major personnel change, said that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn to safer positions outside the city “to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”

The 3rd Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which officials said was deployed to Avdiivka this week, said on Telegram that it had withdrawn to prepared positions on the outskirts of Avdiivka and stabilized the front line.

“Currently, the Russians are not reducing the pace of their assault. We continue to support the line in the Avdiivka area,” she said.

Separately, Ukrainian troops repelled the Russian offensive on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Ukrainian military reported on Sunday.

So far, there have been no comments on this from Russia.