By Merve Berker
Ukraine’s Chief of General Staff Oleksandr Syrskyi said early Saturday that he decided to withdraw units from Avdiyivka to “avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”
“I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defense on more favorable lines,” he wrote on X.
“Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,” wrote Syrskyi.
“We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions,” he noted. “The life of military personnel is the highest value.”
He added that Ukrainian units will return to the city.