AGI – The Ukrainian army has withdrawn from Avdiivka, the eastern front town that has been under a fierce Russian offensive for months. Moscow thus achieved its biggest victory since the failure of the Kiev counteroffensive last summer. “In accordance with the order received, we retreated from Avdiivka to the positions prepared in advance“, wrote General Tarnavski in a message on Telegram, who recognized yesterday that fighting was taking place on the streets inside the city. Since October, the Ukrainian soldiers, outnumbered and materially inferior, have resisted the Russian attacks on this small town in the mining basin in Donbass, where the situation had become particularly critical in the last few days. “In the situation in which the enemy is advancing on the corpses of his soldiers and has ten times more howitzers, this is the only good solution,” Tarnavski justified by announcing his withdrawal.
The general emphasized that his troops had escaped encirclement by the enemy and were already positioned in the new defensive lines. The withdrawal from Avdiivka is the first major military decision by Kiev's new commander-in-chief, Oleksander Sirski, who was appointed on February 8. “I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defense on more favorable lines“Sirski wrote on his Facebook page. “Our soldiers fulfilled their military duty with dignity, did everything to destroy the best Russian military units and inflict significant losses on the enemy,” he added.
The meaning of Avdiivka
The city has become a symbol of resistance for Kiev's armed forces as the second anniversary of the start of Moscow's invasion of the former Soviet republic approaches on February 24, 2022. In July 2014, it was briefly occupied by pro-Russian separatists, but returned to control of Kiev, which it had held all along despite its proximity to Donetsk, a separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine.
Avdiivka represents the most significant advance for Russia since the conquest of Bakhmut in May 2023, after months of bitter fighting in which thousands died. Although it has been largely destroyed, about 900 civilians still live there, according to local authorities. Russia hopes its seizure of power will complicate Ukraine's bombing of Donetsk.
The meeting between Zelensky and Macron
In Paris, President @EmmanuelMacron and I signed an agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and France.
This document confirms France's unwavering support. France will provide 3 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine in 2024 and our… pic.twitter.com/ICUWr1EAxQ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володиmir Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 16, 2024
On another front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made diplomatic progress Friday with a tour of Berlin and Paris to ensure Western powers continue to help Kiev. During his visits, the Ukrainian head of state signed security agreements with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. The agreements include an increase in military aid. Today, Zelensky will plead at the Munich Security Conference for the continuation of international financial assistance at a time when the delivery of funds from his main donor, the United States, is suspended due to infighting between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Since the failure of its counteroffensive in the summer of 2023, Ukraine has faced offensive Russian troops, a shortage of men, weapons and ammunition, and uncertainty about the continuation of Western aid. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that our fighters have sufficient organizational and technological capabilities to save as many Ukrainian lives as possible.Zelensky said. The Kiel Institute said on Friday that the European Union must “at least double” its military aid to Ukraine to compensate for US inaction.