Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday mocked the Ukrainian army’s “chaotic escape” from the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka, which was abandoned by Kiev forces last week after months of fighting.

“This chaotic flight took place exactly at the moment when the command of the Armed Forces was giving the order to withdraw, (…) it was actually a flight in the literal sense of the word,” Putin said at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, AFP reports.

The Ukrainian industrial city of Avdiyivka, once home to 32,000 people, was captured by Russian forces on Saturday, marking President Vladimir Putin’s biggest victory in Ukraine since the capture of Bakhmut, another Donetsk city, late last spring.

• Read also: VIDEO What Avdiivka looks like “liberated” by Russian troops / Official photos of Moscow

Ten years ago, pro-Russian forces tried to capture Avdiivka

Avdiyivka, the city that Russians call “Avdeevka”, has survived more than ten years of fighting. This has particular symbolism for Moscow, as pro-Russian separatists from Donbas, who took control of large swaths of eastern Ukraine, briefly overran it in 2014, only to be released by Kyiv forces.

The city is located approximately 15 kilometers north of Donetsk, the administrative capital of the Omon region.

A video released by the Ukrainian military shows fierce fighting during the withdrawal from Avdiyivka, as Kyiv tried to withdraw its troops from the city to avoid encirclement.

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