Ukraine withdrawing from Avdiivka, where outnumbered defenders held out for 4 months
The capture of the city near Donetsk would "not be operationally significant" for Russia, according to the Institute for the Study of War, but it would represent a major morale boost as the two-year anniversary of the war nears.
Transcript
00:00 Ukrainian troops have left their position in southern Avdiivka in the east of Ukraine
00:05 in a bid to avoid being surrounded and submerged by Russian forces.
00:09 Early on Saturday, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Sirsky posted on the Ukrainian Forces General
00:14 Staff Facebook page.
00:17 He commended the soldiers who performed their military duty with dignity and emphasized
00:22 they would return to Avdiivka.
00:24 The town, located north of the Russian-held regional capital of Donetsk, has been a front
00:29 line since 2014.
00:32 The situation escalated significantly in recent months when Moscow set its sights on securing
00:37 Avdiivka.
00:38 The loss of the town has become the biggest change in the war since the fall of Bakhmut
00:43 last May and comes as a blow to Ukrainian morale.
00:47 On Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the US failure to approve continued
00:53 aid was already having an impact on the battlefield.
00:56 [speaking russian]
00:57 (whooshing)