KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — 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” data-vars-item-type=”text” data-vars-unit-name=”65d11b43e4b0f7fbe7b2d9cb” data-vars-unit-type=”buzz_body” data-vars-target-content-id=”https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine” data-vars-target-content-type=”url” data-vars-type=”web_external_link” data-vars-subunit-name=”article_body” data-vars-subunit-type=”component” data-vars-position-in-subunit=”0″>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.”
A Ukrainian soldier sits in his position in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Aug. 18, 2023.
AP Photo/Libkos
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024.
Wolfgang Rattay/Pool Photo via AP
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,