Russia claimed “total control” of Avdiivka on Saturday, the day after the announcement of the Ukrainian withdrawal from the area. “An important victory” hailed by Vladimir Putin.
Its dimension is above all symbolic. Russia achieved its first major success in Ukraine since Bakhmout, in May 2023. Captured by pro-Russian separatists at the start of the Donbass war, in July 2014, the town was then recaptured by the Ukrainians. It also represents a strategic interest for the Russian army, by making bombings on Donetsk more difficult.