The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, called the decision to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Avdiyivka to avoid encirclement correct.
Zelenskyi about leaving Avdiivka
As Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted, since October, the Defense Forces have exhausted the resources of the Russians there, and they have accomplished their task — the occupiers have lost thousands of soldiers.
The head of the country noted that the withdrawal from Avdiivka does not mean that Russia has captured something. During the 2 years of the war, the terrorist country only destroyed small villages, towns and the lives of Ukrainians.
According to the president, since October 2023, the enemy attacked Avdiivka with all their weapons and all their power, as a result of which thousands of occupants died.
Exhausting their army, I believe that this is a task that our military constantly performs. Then there will be recovery, we will wait for the missing weapons. There are no long-range weapons. Russia has it, but we don't have it. We count on the support of our partners, the president added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi
President of Ukraine
Withdrawal of the Armed Forces from Avdiivka: what is known
On the night of February 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi published a statement on the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from Avdiyivka in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.
Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the operational and strategic grouping of the "Tavria" troops, said that the military left Avdiyivka for pre-prepared positions.
A few days before, 3 separate assault brigades were sent to Avdiivka. It was noted there that the ratio of forces in the city is one to seven.
The 3rd OShBr inflicted critical damage on the 74th and 114th separate motorized rifle brigades of the Russian Armed Forces. Both enemy units are actually "wiped out".
