Russian troops have established full control over the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka.
This came a day after Ukraine announced that it had withdrawn its soldiers to save troops from being fully surrounded after months of fierce fighting.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that its troops had advanced 8.6km (5.3 miles) in that part of the 1,000km (621-mile) front line, and that the troops were pressing forward.
It added that some Ukrainian troops are still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant following one of the most intense battles of the war.
Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman, Igor Konashenkov said, “Measures are being taken to completely clear the town of militants and to block Ukrainian units that have left the town and are entrenched at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant.”
Russian state television showed blue and yellow Ukrainian flags being taken down in Avdiivka and Russia’s white, blue and red flag raised, including over the coke plant.
Capturing Avdiivka is likely to provide a morale boost for Russia ahead of Putin’s bid for re-election next month, which he is almost certain to win.
The fall of Avdiivka is Russia’s biggest gain since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023 and comes almost two years to the day since President Vladimir Putin triggered a full-scale war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as an important victory and congratulated Russian troops.
“The Head of State congratulated Russian soldiers on this success, an important victory,” the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.
Meanwhile, Putin’s telegram paid tribute to soldiers who had died in the campaign, saying, “Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in fulfilling the tasks of the special military operation!”
On the other hand, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his troops for “exhausting” Russian forces in Avdiivka.
He implored his Western allies to step up supplies of military aid and suggested that Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka was partly caused by a lack of weapons.
“Now, (the military) will replenish, they will wait for the relevant weapons, of which there simply weren’t enough, simply aren’t enough,” he said.
He added, “Russia has long-range weapons, while we simply don’t have enough.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov also said that Avdiivka showed the need for modern air defense systems to counter guided bombs and long-range weapons to destroy enemy formations.
He said that artillery shells were also needed.
A Matter Of Life And Death
Separately, Russian President, Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired on Sunday, February 18, 2024, that events on the battlefield in Ukraine are a matter of “life and death” for Russia that could determine its fate.
The Kremlin has repeatedly framed the almost two-year conflict as a battle for Russia’s survival in a bid to rally patriotic sentiment among its population, many apathetic toward the offensive.
“I think it is still important for us ourselves, and even more so for our listeners and viewers abroad, to understand our way of thinking,” Putin said in the interview.
“Everything that is happening on the Ukraine front: For them it is an improvement of their tactical position, but for us it is our fate, it is a matter of life and death,” he said.
Putin made these remarks in response to a question about a two-hour long interview he granted Tucker Carlson, which the Kremlin used to promote its narratives on the conflict.
In that interview, Putin talked at length about Russian history and continuously questioned Ukraine’s statehood, drawing ire in both Kyiv and the west.
When asked about his long, historical musings in the Carlson interview, Putin replied, “For the western listener, the viewer, it was not easy. Even more so for Americans.”
“The history of the US is 300-odd years, and I started in 862. So I think it was not easy for American audiences to understand,” he said.
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