The Russian armed forces have taken full control of the city of Avdeyevka, a northern suburb of Donetsk, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
"Today in the Kremlin, Russian Defense Minister, Army General S.K. Shoigu, reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armed forces [President Vladimir Putin] on the complete takeover by the Center grouping of troops under the command of Col. Gen. Andrey Mordvichev of the city of Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People's Republic, which was a powerful defensive stronghold of the Ukrainian armed forces," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The losses of Ukrainian troops in fighting for Avdeyevka amounted to over 1,500 servicepeople over the past 24 hours, the defense ministry also said.
On Friday night, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky announced the decision to withdraw Ukrainian units from Avdeyevka and the transition to defense.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said earlier that the situation for Ukrainian troops in the Avdeyevka area is critical, worse than in Artemovsk (Bakhmut), which Kiev lost in May 2023, and the Ukrainian operation there was then commanded by Syrsky, among others.
Ukrainian General Admits Multiple Soldiers Captured During Retreat From Avdeyevka
Ukrainian military commander of the Tavria operational group, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, admitted on Saturday that a number of Ukrainian troops had been captured during retreat from their stronghold in Avdeyevka.
"The withdrawal of personnel from Avdeyevka took place in accordance with a plan designed with consideration of different scenarios and a possible change in the operational situation. And yet, at the final stage of the operation, under pressure from superior enemy forces, several Ukrainian servicepeople were captured," Tarnavskyi said in a statement quoted by the Ukrainian media.
The military commander added that relevant Ukrainian bodies would contact international humanitarian organizations and mediator countries to ensure that norms of the international humanitarian law are observed regarding the captured Ukrainian troops.
On Thursday, US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that the situation in Avdeyevka was critical and the city may come under Russia's control because the Ukrainian forces lack ammunition. Earlier in February, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said that Avdeyevka had an "operative importance" for Ukrainian troops.