The Russian Armed Forces have completed the liberation of Avdiyivka, which remained a bastion of the Ukrainian army in Donbas for nine years. At the moment, the city is undergoing residual clean-up and demining.
The footage shows the Russian Armed Forces occupying one of the buildings of the Avdiivka Coke Plant, where units of the elite 3rd Independent Assault Brigade were sheltering. The Ukrainian storm troopers did not wish to share the fate of their colleagues from Azovstal in Mariupol and fled at night, abandoning their wounded, equipment and ammunition.
The footage also shows Russian servicemen reporting the capture of the railway station building and the city administration of Avdiivka.
One of the last places in Avdeevka was liberated from the Ukrainian forces by the so-called “8-9 microdistrict” – a group of high-rise buildings in the south-west of the city. The Russian flag was raised over the neighbourhood, as it was over others in the city.
Avdeevka has been a key bastion of the AFU’s defence in the Donetsk area for many years. After its fall, the AFU will have to abandon a large number of other settlements to avoid encirclement. The front line has moved away from Donetsk by 10-15 kilometres, which has significantly reduced the artillery pressure on the city.
