By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – After months of fighting for a critical eastern town that is feared to have killed tens of thousands, battle-worn Ukraine said Saturday its troops have withdrawn from Avdiivka.
The withdrawal marked a significant setback for Ukraine in its near two-year war against Russia’s invading military.
While most of the city is in ruins, Avdiivka symbolized resistance in an armed conflict that is believed to have killed and injured hundreds of thousands, often in trenches resembling World War One.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to blame faltering Western weapons supplies for what is Russia’s biggest win in months.
Zelensky told delegates attending Germany’s Munich security conference that Western countries should step up efforts to help Ukraine defeat “the monster” – as he called Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Without Western support, the Russian leader will make the next few years “catastrophic” for many more countries like Ukraine if the Western world does not stand up to him, he warned.
The pullback from Avdiivka was announced as Ukraine faces acute ammunition shortages, with U.S. military aid delayed for months in the U.S. Congress.
FIERCE FIGHTING
Officials said the move aimed to save troops from being fully surrounded by Russian forces after months of fierce fighting.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. With the 2nd anniversary nearing, Zelensky told the conference: “Do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself, why is Putin still able to continue it?”
Avdiivka has been engulfed in fierce clashes for months and has been a battlefield town since 2014 when Russian-backed fighters seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Analysts say the fall of Avdiivka marks the biggest change on the more than 1,000 kilometers long (620 miles) front line since Russian troops seized the nearby town of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Yet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his troops for “exhausting” Russian forces in Avdiivka and said he agreed with the decision to withdraw to save lives.
However, in his emotionally charged speech at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy implored his Western allies to step up military aid supplies and suggested a lack of weapons partly caused the withdrawal.
“Now, (the military) will replenish; they will wait for the relevant weapons, of which there simply weren’t enough, simply aren’t enough,” he said. “Russia has long-range weapons, while we simply don’t have enough.”
There were fears Saturday that many more lives will be lost as the war drags on without signs of peace arriving soon.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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