The Ukrainian army was forced to abandon the eastern town of Avdiivka on Saturday. It thus concedes to Russia its greatest symbolic victory, after the failure of the counter-offensive launched by kyiv last summer.
The city is now largely destroyed but some 900 civilians remain there, according to local authorities. By taking control of Av diivka, Moscow hopes to make Ukrainian bombing of Donetsk more difficult, writes Yurii Butusov. The loss of Av Diivka is far from marking the end of the fighting in Ukraine, he adds.