Russian flag flies in Avdiivka as city poised to fall

RUSSIA planted a flag in the heart of Avdiivka yesterday, as the eastern Ukrainian city looked set to become the first to fall to Moscow’s forces in almost a year.

Its army was close to encircling the besieged industrial city after months of heavy fighting, according to pro-Kremlin military bloggers.

It comes after the United States confirmed late on Thursday that Ukrainian positions holding Avdiivka were on the brink of collapse because its forces were starved of arms supplies.

“Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control. In very large part, this is happening because the Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition,” said John Kirby, the White House spokesman.

Western analysts said a mass withdrawal had been ordered by Kyiv to prevent troops from becoming trapped.

“It’s clear Ukrainian forces are withdrawing,” Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, a US-based think tank, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Ukraine’s army said “several” of its soldiers had been captured by Russian forces while it was withdrawing.

Its 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said yesterday it had inflicted “critical injuries” on two Russian brigades fighting for control over Avdiivka since it was deployed in the city.

A spokesman for the brigade, which gained a reputation for its counter-attacks on the flanks of Bakhmut, said it was faced by up to 15,000 Russian troops. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, it said it had “wiped out” both Moscow’s 74th and 114th Motor Rifle Brigades. “Preliminary, the real number of losses is estimated at 4,200.”

The post added: “Despite the fact that the occupiers are suffering disproportionate losses, the situation in Avdiivka remains extremely difficult.” The imminent fall of Avdiivka comes after Ukrainian forces have withstood almost two years of onslaught aimed at encircling the stronghold, which sits less than 10 miles from the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.

Russian forces are closing a gap of less than one mile before they completely surround Avdiivka.

The situation became increasingly perilous in recent months with Russian forces capitalising on dwindling Western military support for Ukraine.

With the Ukrainians forced to ration ammunition, small Russian assault groups were gradually able to fight their way into the streets earlier this month. The Avdiivka coke plant is likely to become the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

Last week, Russian forces seized control of the main highway between the Soviet-era plant and the rest of the town, and advanced to its southern edges. Bat‘Today, the main forces in the south left their positions, but not everyone managed to get out’ tlefield footage shared by the battle-hardened 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, which was deployed to Avdiivka to steady the withdrawal, appeared to show the fortress-like position under constant aerial bombardment.

“The Russians employ phosphorus shells, igniting fuel oil tanks and causing them to catch fire. Toxic smoke spreads throughout the plant,” the brigade wrote on the Telegram messaging app yesterday.

Elsewhere in the city, Ukraine lost control of its Zenit stronghold in southern Avdiivka.

The Ukrainian Deep State website wrote late on Thursday: “Katsaps [Russians] have been actively climbing in this area for the last few days, where our fighters repelled them. In the last days, the position there was completely surrounded. Today, the main forces left their positions, but not everyone managed to get out, so not everything is as joyful as others try to present.”