After Russia’s military success capturing the city of Avdiivka, Vladimir Putin mocked Ukraine’s ‘flight’ and vowed to push his troops further into the country.
Ahead of the second anniversary of its offensive, Russia captured the frontline city last week in a symbolic victory for Putin’s invasion.
Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had made the decision to avoid encirclement and ‘preserve the lives and health of servicemen’.
But today President Vladimir Putin mocked what he called Kyiv’s ‘flight’ from Avdiivka.
The eastern Ukraine front has been frozen for months, but Moscow has been bolstered by its capture of Avdiivka, as well as a wrangled US Congress blocking military aid to Kyiv.
The town, which once had a population of 32,000, fell to Russia on Saturday, Putin’s biggest battlefield victory since Moscow captured the city of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces have reclaimed Krynky, a Ukranian bridgehead on the Moscow-occupied side of the Dnipro river.
Today, Putin swore that his troopers will push further into Ukraine, because the ‘success’ of capturing the city ‘needs to be built on’.
After Russia ‘s military success capturing the city of Avdiivka, Vladimir Putin mocked Ukraine’s ‘flight’ and vowed to push his troops further into the country
Ocheretyne, a village under heavy shelling in the vicinity of Avdiivka district, was recently claimed by Russian troops in Donbas, Ukraine. Pictured yesterday
Local civilians queue for humanitarian aid distribution in Ocheretyne, pictured yesterday
People carry bottles of water past residential buildings damaged in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict. Pictured today
Damaged apartment blocks that were destroyed in a Russian missile strike are seen, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Selydove near Avdiivka yesterday
‘I confirm that Krynky has been cleared,’ Shoigu told Putin in a televised meeting.
Ukraine said last year that it had established positions around the tiny east bank village, crossing into the Russian-occupied side of the river.
Shoigu told state media earlier that Russian forces were ‘on the banks of the river in Krynky.’
During the meeting, Putin said the Ukrainian army had chaotically fled Avdiivka. Kyiv said it withdrew from the eastern stronghold to save soldiers’ lives.
‘The Ukrainian armed forces issued an order to withdraw their armed forces when they were already on the move,’ Putin said, calling the retreat a ‘chaotic flight.’
Moscow has tried to capture Avdiivka, a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, for months.
Putin also said today that Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the fall of Avdiivka.
Television footage released by Russia’s defence ministry showed that almost every house in Avdiivka had been branded with war.
Moscow has tried to capture Avdiivka, a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since 2014, for months. Pictured are civilians queuing for humanitarian aid yesterday
A street damaged in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the city of Avdiivka today
Pictured today is a damaged street in Avdiivka
Putin said that the Ukrainian order to withdraw from the town had been announced after Ukrainian troops had already begun to flee in chaos. He said that all captured Ukrainian troops should be accorded their rights under international conventions on prisoners.
‘As for the overall situation in Avdiivka, this is an absolute success, I congratulate you. It needs to be built on,’ Putin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremlin.
‘But that development must be well-prepared, provided with personnel, weapons, equipment, and ammunition,’ Putin said. ‘It seems to be self-evident, but nevertheless I draw your attention to it.’
Ukraine said it withdrew its soldiers to save them from being fully surrounded after months of fierce fighting. The Ukrainian military said there had been casualties, but that the situation had stabilised somewhat after the retreat.
Both sides accused each other of suffering huge losses.
After the failure of Ukraine to pierce Russian lines last year, Moscow has been trying to grind down Ukrainian forces just as Kyiv ponders a major new mobilisation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appointed a new commander last week to run the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (pictured) appointed a new commander last week
A local civilian chops wood for making fire in the downtown of Ocheretyne in the vicinity of Avdiivka district, recently claimed by Russian troops. Pictured yesterday
A view of the city of Avdiivka in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region, February 19
Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering full-scale war after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces on one side and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies on the other.
Avdiivka, which is called Avdeyevka by Russians, has endured a decade of conflict. It holds particular symbolism for Russia as it was briefly taken in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists who seized a swathe of eastern Ukraine but was then recaptured by Ukrainian troops who built extensive fortifications.
Avdiivka sits in the industrial Donbas region, 15 km (9 miles) north of the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Before the war, its Soviet-era coke plant was one of Europe’s biggest.
Shoigu said Russian forces had also taken control of the village of Krynky in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region. Ukraine’s southern military command said its troops had held their positions on the left bank of River Dnipro and said Russian attacks were unsuccessful.
