The Ukrainian army withdrew from Avdiivka

The Ukrainian General Staff announced that they have decided to withdraw their troops from the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian army withdrew from the strategically important city of Avdiivka, located in the Donetsk region in the east of the country. Aleksandr Sirsky, who took office as Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine on February 8, stated, “I have decided to withdraw our troops from the city and move to more suitable lines of defense in order to prevent encirclement and protect the lives of our soldiers. We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our position. Our soldiers have fulfilled their duties honorably, they have done everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicting significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,” he said. Avdiivka, seen as a gateway to Donetsk, which Russia has seized, has been the scene of intense fighting for months. The fall of Avdiivka marked the biggest change on the front line stretching over a thousand kilometers since Russian forces seized Bakhmut in May 2023.

Ukraine is experiencing an ammunition shortage
The decision to withdraw comes at a time when Ukraine is facing a serious ammunition shortage due to months of delay in US military aid in Congress. US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Thursday that due to the ammunition shortage Ukraine is experiencing, Avdiivka is at risk of falling into the hands of Russian forces, following months of Republican opposition in the US Congress to a new military aid package for Kyiv.