Ukraine withdraws troops from Avdiivka in biggest front lines change since May 2023

Ukraine's military chief said early Saturday that he's withdrawing troops from Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, where they've battled a Russian assault for four months.

In a short statement posted on Facebook early Saturday, Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had made the decision to avoid encirclement and "preserve the lives and health of servicemen."

The commander-in-chief added that troops were moving to "more favourable lines."

"Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment," the statement read.

"We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions."

Heavily reinforced with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk City in Ukraine's Donbas — a mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in the east.

Fewer than 1,000 people remain in the city, according to the Donetsk regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. The city, with a prewar population of about 31,000, is today a bombed-out shell of what it once was.

Intense street fighting was also seen in Avdiivk, where Ukraine says its forces were outnumbered seven-to-one against an estimated 15,000 Russian troops.

Aerial footage of Avdiivka obtained by The Associated Press last December showed an apocalyptic scene and hinted at Russia's staggering losses, with the bodies of about 150 soldiers — most wearing Russian uniforms — lying scattered along tree lines where they sought cover.

Ukraine's withdrawal from Avdiivka marks the biggest change on the front lines since Russian troops captured Bakhmut in May 2023, which is also located in the Donbas.

Capturing the eastern city is seen as key to Moscow's aim of securing the Donbas — a key Kremlin goal since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine started — and could hand Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently underlined its significance, a battlefield victory to hold up to voters as he seeks re-election next month.

However, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Thursday that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 1,500-kilometre front line that has barely budged in recent months.

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"The potential Russian capture of Avdiivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories," the institute said in an assessment.

"Russian forces would be highly unlikely to make rapid operationally significant advances from Avdiivka if they captured the settlement, and the potential Russian capture of Avdiivka at most would set conditions for further limited tactical gains."

Kyiv pleads for military supplies

The withdrawal came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday made another trip to western Europe, hoping to press his country's Western allies to keep providing military support.

In France, Zelenskyy said military supplies from other partners had decreased while Russia had an advantage in artillery on the front line.

The United States is Ukraine's biggest single supporter but some $60 billion US for Kyiv is being held up by political disagreements among American lawmakers.

On Thursday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby attributed Russian advances in Avdiivka "in very large part" to Ukraine's dwindling supply of artillery ammunition.