Ukraine updates: Kyiv's forces withdraw from Avdiivka

Outnumbered Ukrainian defenders battled a Russian assault for four months in the key city. Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had made the decision to avoid encirclement. Follow DW for more.

Ukraine faces acute shortages of ammunition

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the eastern city of Avdiivka to avoid encirclement.

The chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said his forces were moving to “more favorable lines.”

The withdrawal comes only days ahead of Russia’s war in Ukraine entering its third year on February 24.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed agreements with Germany and France, guaranteeing continued support for Kyiv for years.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine on Saturday, February 17.

Ukrainian withdraw forces from Avdiivka

Ukraine’s military says it was withdrawing its troops from Avdiivka after months of fierce Russian attacks.

The chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said he ordered the withdrawal to avoid encirclement.

“In a situation where the enemy is advancing over the corpses of their own soldiers with a ten-to-one shelling advantage, under constant bombardment, this is the only right decision,” he said.

“Encirclement was prevented, personnel were withdrawn, and our soldiers took up defense at the designated lines.” Syrskyi added.

It marks the most significant change on the front line since Russian troops seized the nearby town of Bakhmut.

Capturing the eastern city is key to Moscow’s aim of securing complete control of the two provinces that comprise the industrial Donbas region.

They have been trying to capture Avdiivka since October 2023, suffering heavy losses.

Summary of Friday’s events

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed off on an “ambitious” security deal Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The deal will last 10 years and includes a French promise of up to €3 billion ($3.2 billion) in aid for 2024.

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Zelenskyy signed a bilateral security agreement valued at €1.1 billion ($1.18 billion) to help in the fight against Russia’s invasion.

Also on Friday, the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) said the European Union would need to double its military funding to Ukraine to fill a gap left by a possible US withdrawal.

“It is highly uncertain whether the US will send further military aid in 2024,” the researchers said in a new report on the state of play of military, financial, and humanitarian aid to the war-battered country since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

ss/lo (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)