Saks: Ukraine withdraws from Avdiivka, but no major progress for Russia

On Saturday morning, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrew from Avdiivka, where the situation has deteriorated significantly in recent days.
"The Russian troops made progress last week, so the defense of Avdiivka became problematic and there was a threat of encirclement for some of the Ukrainian troops. And I think in order to avoid that, to avoid that kind of entanglement, they will pull back a little bit," security expert Rainer Saks said Friday night.
However, he said that in the broader context of the war, the Russian army has not made significant progress.
Nevertheless, it is an important even if symbolic success for Russia on the eve of the second anniversary of the start of full-scale war on February 24, and the biggest land grab since the capture of Bahmut last May.

Saving soldiers from a siege was the first major decision made by Oleksandr Syrskyi, the new commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, since his appointment on February 8.
Avdiivka had a population of about 34,000 before the full-scale invasion of the Russian occupation forces. The town has important symbolic value, becoming the site of some of the fiercest fighting for nearly two years.
Avdiivka briefly fell under the control of pro-Kremlin separatists in July 2014 before Ukraine regained control, and has remained so despite the invasion of Russian troops and its proximity to the separatist capital of Donetsk, which is in Moscow's hands.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Kristina Kersa