Ukraine withdraws from Avdiivka, Putin hails ‘important victory’
KYIV, Feb 17 (Reuters): Russian President Vladimir Putin called the capture of Avdiivka “an important victory” after Ukraine’s military chief said on Saturday that his troops withdrew from the devastated town in the east of the country after months of intense combat. Although the Russian defence ministry said that Ukrainian units were still entrenched at the town’s coke plant, the advance on Avdiivka was Moscow’s biggest advance since it took the city of Bakhmut last May. It came days before the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Ukraine and amidst Ukraine’s acute shortages of ammunition with fresh U.S. military