Following one of the most fierce engagements of the conflict, Russian troops solidified their greatest battlefield success in nine months on Monday when they took complete control of the massive coke factory from the Soviet period located in the destroyed Ukrainian town of Avdiivka.
The Russian Defense Ministry declared on Saturday that the day Ukraine's military leader stated he was pulling out of the city, Russian soldiers had taken total control of Avdiivka. According to a statement from authorities, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed the Kremlin on Saturday that Russian forces were attempting to eliminate any last pockets of resistance at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant.
Nearly two years to the day that President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has achieved its greatest victory since taking control of Bakhmut in May 2023 with the fall of Avdiivka.
According to Russia's military ministry, following a bloody urban combat, Russian forces were pushing forward in that section of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, having advanced roughly 9 kilometers (5 miles).
After months of intense warfare, Ukraine claimed to have withdrew its men to prevent its forces from being completely besieged. Mr. Putin praised the Russian soldiers and hailed the fall of Avdiivka as a significant achievement.
“The ‘Center’ grouping of troops, taking the offensive, took full control of the coke plant in Avdiivka,” Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement on Monday alongside a video showing a series of blasts in what appeared to be the plant.
“Russian flags were hoisted on the administrative buildings of the plant,” the ministry said.
Russian official media displayed the raising of Russia's tricolor flag, which consists of white, blue, and red, including above the coke factory, and the removal of blue and yellow Ukrainian flags from Avdiivka.
Russia portrayed the Ukrainian pullout as hurried and disorganized, leaving some troops and armaments behind. Although there had been losses, the Ukrainian military said that following the withdrawal, things had partially calmed.
Eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies culminated in a full-scale war in February 2022 when Mr. Putin dispatched tens of thousands of troops into the country.
Avdiivka, or Avdeyevka as the Russians name it, has seen ten years of fighting. It is especially symbolic for Russia since, in 2014, rebels supported by Moscow briefly occupied it and took control of a large portion of eastern Ukraine. However, Ukrainian soldiers retook the area and fortified it extensively.
Situated 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, Avdiivka is an industrial area in the Donbas region. The Soviet-era coke factory was one of the largest in Europe prior to the war.
Ukraine did not immediately respond.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated on Saturday that his soldiers had retreated to more safe positions outside the town "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen."
On Saturday, Russia declared that Ukrainian forces had suffered a slew of setbacks along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
The West frequently calculates the number of Russian deaths in the conflict, but it hardly ever discusses the estimated large number of Ukrainian deaths, according to Moscow. According to estimations by Western intelligence, the conflict has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
