Russia said its forces took complete control Saturday of a city in eastern Ukraine that was the focus of intense combat for months, a development that Moscow could use to boost morale as the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches with the war largely at a stalemate.

The Russian Defense Ministry's announcement came the same day Ukraine’s military chief said he was withdrawing troops from the city of Avdiivka, where the outnumbered defenders had battled a Russian assault for four months.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Kremlin that Russian forces were working to clear final pockets of resistance at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, officials said in a statement. Videos on social media Saturday appeared to show soldiers raising the Russian flag over one of the plant’s buildings.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a personal message of congratulating to his troops in the city, state news agency Tass reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Avdiivka’s capture as an “important victory.”

Along with the invasion's upcoming anniversary on Feb. 24, Russia also is preparing for a March presidential election that is all but guaranteed to give Putin another six-year term. The Kremlin has cracked down heavily on dissent during the war, and the death Friday of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has silenced the voice of Putin's most formidable foe.

Ukraine is back on the defensive against Russia in the nearly 2-year-old war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his country's allies that an “artificial deficit” of arms for Ukraine risked giving Russia breathing space and allowing "Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war.”

“Our actions are limited only by ... our strength,” Zelenskyy said, pointing to the situation in Avdiivka after the commander of Ukraine's armed forces said he was withdrawing troops from the city to prevent their encirclement and to save soldiers’ lives.

President Joe Biden said he told Zelenskyy in their Saturday phone call that he remains confident Congress will ultimately approve additional funding for Ukraine. But asked if he was confident more U.S. funding would come through before Ukraine loses more territory, Biden acknowledged, “I’m not.”

“Look Ukrainians have fought so bravely, ” Biden said “There is so much on the line. The idea now when they are running out of ammunition that we’re going to walk away. I find it absurd.”

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson called the withdrawal “the cost of Congressional inaction.”

In a short statement posted on Facebook, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Ukrainian troops were moving to “more favorable lines."

“Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment.

“We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions,” the statement read.

The withdrawal was Syrskyi’s first major test since his appointment this month as Ukraine’s new army chief.

In his previous position as commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, he faced criticism for holding on to the city of Bakhmut for nine months, a siege that became the war’s longest and bloodiest battle and cost Ukraine dearly, but also served to sap Russia’s forces.

In recent days, reports emerged that Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka faced a deteriorating situation.

Rodion Kudriashov, deputy commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, said Friday that Ukrainian troops were still holding out against the onslaught of about 15,000 Russian soldiers, but he expected the situation would “soon become critical.”

“The enemy is trying to penetrate our defense and in some places to bypass our positions,” he told The Associated Press.

The 3rd Brigade said on its social media account Friday that its soldiers were at the huge Avdiivka Coke Plant. Russian warplanes have been dropping about 60 bombs a day, relentlessly shelling the area and launching assaults with armor and infantry, the brigade said.

A video showed dense black smoke over the factory, said to be caused by burning fuel oil reservoirs. The post said: “Poisonous smog spreads all over the plant.”

Russian media reported the Kremlin’s forces were making extensive use of plane-launched glide bombs, which fly at a shallower angle, to batter Ukrainian positions.

Heavily fortified with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy. Capturing Avdiivka could be a timely boost for Moscow and serve as a possible springboard for Russia to drive deeper into the region.

Fewer than 1,000 people remain in the city, according to the Donetsk regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. The city, with a prewar population of about 31,000, is today a bombed-out shell of what it once was.

Aerial footage of Avdiivka obtained by The Associated Press in December showed an apocalyptic scene and hinted at Russia’s staggering losses, with the bodies of about 150 soldiers — most wearing Russian uniforms — lying scattered along tree lines where they sought cover.

However, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Thursday that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line that has barely budged in recent months.

“The potential Russian capture of Avdiivka would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin immediate informational and political victories,” the institute said in an assessment.

“Russian forces would be highly unlikely to make rapid operationally significant advances from Avdiivka if they captured the settlement, and the potential Russian capture of Avdiivka at most would set conditions for further limited tactical gains,” it added.

Avdiivka: Ukraine troops leave embattled eastern town

Avdiivka has been almost completely destroyed during months of fierce fighting.

Ukraine says its troops have withdrawn from Avdiivka - a key eastern town besieged by Russian forces for months.

The decision was taken in order to save the soldiers' lives, said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday it had taken "full control" of the town, with President Vladimir Putin hailing it as an "important victory".

Its fall marks Russia's biggest win for months, and Mr Zelensky blamed faltering Western weapons supplies.

Almost all of Avdiivka's pre-war population of more than 30,000 people have left and the city itself is almost completely destroyed.

Ukraine has been experiencing shortages in ammunition, mainly as a result of political squabbling in the US, its main supplier.

US President Joe Biden blamed Ukraine's withdrawal from Avdiivka on congressional inaction over a crucial foreign aid package - including funding for Ukraine - which forced troops to ration ammunition.

In a call with Mr Zelensky, Mr Biden reiterated America's unwavering support for Ukraine.

Speaking at the Munich security conference on Saturday, Mr Zelensky urged Western countries to help Ukraine defeat "the monster" - as he called Mr Putin.

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.

Mr Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

"Do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself, why is Putin still able to continue it?" Mr Zelensky told the conference.

Avdiivka has been engulfed in fierce fighting for months and has been a battlefield town since 2014, when Russian-backed fighters seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The fall of Avdiivka marks the biggest change on the more than 1,000km-long (620-mile) front line since Russian troops seized the nearby town of Bakhmut in May 2023.

Announcing the decision to withdraw early on Saturday, the head of the armed forces, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, said he acted "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of service personnel".

"Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment," he said.

Gen Syrskyi - who was only appointed as the country's top commander a few days ago - said Ukrainian troops were "taking measures to stabilise the situation and maintain our positions".

In a separate statement soon afterwards, one of his deputies said the troops had already left Avdiivka to "pre-prepared positions".

"In a situation where the enemy is advancing on the corpses of their own soldiers, with a ten-to-one shell advantage, under constant bombardment, this is the only correct solution," Gen Oleksandr Tarnavskyi added.

US National Security Council spokesman Adm John Kirby had earlier warned that Ukrainian forces were running out of artillery ammunition with Russia sending "wave after wave of conscript forces to attack Ukrainian positions".

"And because Congress has yet to pass the supplemental bill, we have not been able to provide Ukraine with the artillery shells that they desperately need to disrupt these Russian assaults."

Earlier this week, the US Senate approved a $95bn (£75bn) foreign aid package - including $60bn for Ukraine - after months of political wrangling, but it faces an uphill battle in the House of Representatives.

Ukraine is critically dependent on weapons supplies from the US and other Western allies to keep fighting Russia - a much bigger military force with an abundance of artillery ammunition.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Thursday that the US failure to approve continued military assistance to Ukraine was already having an impact on the battlefield.

Russians plant flag in Avdiivka as city set to be first to fall in almost a year

Smoke rising from the Avdiivka Coke Plant, considered the final Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

Russia planted a flag in the heart of Avdiivka on Friday, 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.

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

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 artillery ammunition.

“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 military analysts signalled a mass withdrawal from the city had been ordered by Kyiv to prevent its beleaguered troops from becoming trapped.

“I think 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 known as Twitter.

Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said on Friday 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 fierce 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, the brigade 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 said.

It 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.

However, 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 city’s streets earlier this month.

The Avdiivka Coke Plant, which produces a coal-based fuel, is likely to become the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city.

Last week, Russian forces seized control of the main highway between the hulking Soviet-era plant and the rest of the town, and had advanced to its southern edges.

Battlefield footage shared by the battle-hardened 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, which was recently 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 on Friday.

Elsewhere in the city, Ukraine lost control of its Zenit stronghold in southern Avdiivka, which has been on the front line of its war with Russia since 2015.

The Ukrainian Deep State website, which maps changes on the battlefield, 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.”

Surrendering control of Avdiivka would come as General Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, made his first major decision since he was promoted by Volodmyr Zelensky earlier this month.

Suggestions that the general could mount a rigid defence of the city were met with concern from rank-and-file Ukrainian troops, who were frustrated the military chief had kept their comrades in nearby Bakhmut for too long, which led to heavy losses on both sides.

Significant battlefield victory

Capture of Avdiivka would mark its first significant battlefield victory in Ukraine since the end of the nine-month battle over Bakhmut.

The war has tilted in Vladimir Putin’s favour since his forces thwarted Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive and seized the initiative as Kyiv suffers from weapons and ammunition shortages.

But Mr Kofman said the loss of Avdiivka would not come as a major blow to Ukraine.

“I don’t think it is necessarily important. Bakhmut wasn’t either,” he wrote on social media.

“The geography is different, although folks may debate how much ‘lessons learned’ we are seeing.

“What matters is preservation of the force, orderly withdrawal, and stabilising the front along new defensive lines.”

Ukraine withdraws from eastern city Avdiivka to 'save our people'

Ukraine troops withdraw from frontline city Avdiivka.

Ukraine withdrew troops from the besieged eastern stronghold of Avdiivka to save the lives of its soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, handing Russia its biggest victory in the war since May.

The pullback comes after Russian forces stepped up efforts to capture the eastern industrial hub in October, leading to mass casualties and destruction.

Facing ammunition shortages and outnumbered on the battlefield, Ukrainian forces announced they had withdrawn in the early hours of Saturday.

"The ability to save our people is the most important task for us," Zelensky told a security conference in Munich, explaining the move.

"In order to avoid being surrounded, it was decided to withdraw to other lines. This does not mean that people retreated some kilometres and Russia captured something, it did not capture anything," he said.

The fall of Avdiivka comes as Zelensky tries to rally allies in Munich for more aid.

Zelensky echoed earlier statements from the newly-appointed commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, who said he "decided to withdraw our units from the city and switch to defence on more favourable lines."

"The life of military personnel is the highest value," Syrsky said.

A number of Ukrainian servicemen were captured in the operation, several military officials said.

It was Syrsky's first major decision since his appointment, at a time when Ukraine faces mounting pressures in the east because of ammunition shortages, with a $60 billion US military aid package held up in Washington.

- 'Nowhere to go' -

A Ukrainian serviceman deployed on the eastern frontline told AFP that withdrawing was "the right decision given the lack of weapons and artillery shells, because if we don't save the lives of the soldiers, we will soon have no one left to fight".

"But if we keep losing ground, we will lose this war," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Avdiivka lies in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which the Kremlin has claimed to be part of Russia since a 2022 annexation that remains unrecognised by nearly all United Nations members.

It briefly fell in July 2014 into the hands of pro-Russian separatists, before returning to Ukrainian control and remaining so despite the invasion and its proximity to the separatist capital Donetsk.

But the Ukrainian army, struggling to replenish its ranks and running low on ammunition, has faced renewed Russian assaults including in the eastern Donetsk region.

"I'm used to the sound of shelling. It’s been ongoing since 2014 already, but now much more tense -- and louder," said Viktor, in the village of Progres, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Avdiivka.

The pensioner was cycling to the last open shop to buy bottles of fresh water before it closed for good after being struck by shelling early in the morning.

Punctuated by rounds of incoming and outgoing artillery fire, Viktor said his neighbour had moved away.

"But I’ve got nowhere to go," he said.

- 'No longer exists' -

AFP journalists nearby saw Ukrainian troops building new defensive lines with shovels and construction equipment.

Two separate groups of servicemen, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a column of armoured vehicles had left from Avdiivka around sunrise.

The city has important symbolic value, and Moscow hopes its capture will make Ukraine's bombing of Donetsk more difficult, but analysts debate its strategic value.

"I doubt that Russia, after such staggering losses, has the capacity to turn limited local successes in a major breakthrough," said Mykola Bielieskov, from the Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies.

The battle for Avdiivka, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) north of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, has been one of the bloodiest of the nearly two-year war.

Many compare it to the battle for Bakhmut, in which tens of thousands of soldiers were killed.

Bielieskov said holding Avdiivka would grant no advantage to Russia, whose positions in the city of Donetsk "even with the ruins of Avdiivka, wouldn't be fully secured."

Avdiivka had around 30,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion. Most of the city has been since destroyed and less than 1,000 residents remain, according to local authorities.

"I am surprised that Avdiivka has held out for two years," Oleksii, a 50-year-old sergeant in the Donetsk region, told AFP on the phone.

Russian forces "destroy everything, level it to the ground," Oleksii said.

"You can't hold the city because it no longer exists," he said.