Kostyantin Liberov/Rivkos/Getty Images
Smoke rises from the coke and chemical plant in Avdiivka on February 15th.
CNN
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According to the commander of Ukraine's Southern Army, Russia captured some Ukrainian soldiers during Kiev's withdrawal from the main city of Avdiivka.
Ukraine on Friday announced its withdrawal from a town northwest of the city of Donetsk, following the heaviest fighting of Russia's war in the country.
The withdrawal comes as Moscow has stepped up its assault on the region in recent weeks with airstrikes and artillery fire, as well as waves of ground attacks by armored vehicles and soldiers.
The commander of Ukraine's Southern Command, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, said in a telegram on Friday that withdrawal was “the only correct solution”, adding that some Ukrainian troops had been taken prisoner in the process.
“In a situation where the enemy is advancing towards the corpses of our own soldiers with a 10-to-1 shell superiority under constant shelling, this is the only correct solution,” he said. Russian forces “are numerically superior in terms of personnel, artillery and aviation,” Tarnavsky added.
He said Moscow's forces had carried out 20 airstrikes and more than 150 artillery shellings in the area in the past 24 hours, adding that Russian forces were “virtually wiping the city off the face of the earth.”
The decision came a few days after Ukraine's new military commander Oleksandr Shirushkyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov visited the front lines in Avdiivka, where the military commander said: “We will prevent the enemy from penetrating deeper into our territory. He promised to send reinforcements to do so.
But by Thursday, Ukrainian forces fighting to take control of the town were describing the situation as “hellish” and the enemy “coming from all sides.”
In a Facebook post on Friday, Shirschiky said he had ordered the withdrawal “to avoid a siege and protect the lives and health of our service members,” and moved troops to protect “more favorable front lines.”
He said Ukrainian soldiers “did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicting significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment” in the region.
He said Ukraine was “taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions,” adding that “the lives of military personnel are the most precious.”
Russia also suffered heavy losses in the attack on Avdiivka, but Moscow appears to have calculated that it was worth it given its numerical superiority.
Avdiivka, located just a few kilometers north of Donetsk airport, was captured by Russian forces in early 2015 after months of regular heavy fighting. Since then, it has been firmly in Moscow's crosshairs.
With Russia's presidential elections just weeks away, its occupation would have added value for Moscow.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
