Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov explained the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) from Avdiivka due to a lack of certain weapons in his social media posts.
“We need more air defense systems, long-range systems, artillery shells, and fortification systems,” Umerov said.
According to him, the air defense systems are necessary to prevent the Russian Armed Forces from using guided bombs.
On the morning of February 17, the new Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, Oleksandr Syrskyi, announced that the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would be withdrawn from Avdiivka due to the imminent encirclement of the garrison.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Avdiivka at the Munich Security Conference as a desire to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. According to him, “keeping Ukraine artificially under-armed” allows Russia to adapt to the intensity of the fighting.
Earlier, the withdrawal of troops from Avdiivka was referred to as a challenging task in Ukraine.
