Battle of Avdiivka: Ukraine withdraws after Russian assault

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the symbolically and strategically important city of Avdiivka in the east of the country after months of heavy fighting that has killed thousands of soldiers. Oleksandr Syrsky, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said he had taken the decision to pull his troops back to prevent them being encircled by Russia’s invading army. The fall of the war-shattered city, about 400 miles east of Kyiv, would represent the Kremlin’s biggest battlefield success since it seized nearby Bakhmut in May 2023. Read the best of our journalism: Subscribe to The Times and The Sunday Times YouTube channel: Find us on Facebook: Find us on Twitter: Find us on Instagram: #ukrainewar #russia