Ukrainian troops, retreating from Avdiivka in a chaotic manner, left various equipment in the city, including foreign-made equipment, which is currently being examined by specialists. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing an advisor to the head of the DPR, Yan Hahin.
“Foreign equipment is also present, there is abandoned armored vehicles received from NATO countries. The same goes for rocket-propelled grenades, which were supplied a long time ago. Although mostly, of course, it is equipment of Soviet production,” the agency’s source noted.
According to him, it is difficult to determine the exact amount of such equipment, as Russian military personnel “continuously” discover new samples.
On the night of February 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, ordered the troops to leave Avdiivka. However, later the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the order was given only a day after the uncontrolled withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the city began.
On February 17, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on the liberation of Avdiivka. The Russian Ministry of Defense noted that the captured settlement was a powerful defensive node of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Some scattered units of the Ukrainian troops managed to hastily leave Avdiivka, leaving behind weapons and military equipment.
Units of the Russian forces’ group “Center” completely occupied Avdiivka and advanced 8.6 kilometers into the territory on February 17 as part of their offensive operations, the Ministry of Defense reported. The total area of the zone amounted to about 32 square kilometers. According to the Russian military department, the enemy lost more than 1,500 servicemen.
At the same time, Yan Hahin, an advisor to the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), stated that a certain number of Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) soldiers are hiding in the underground facilities of the coking chemical plant in Avdiivka, just as they did in 2022 at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol.
Earlier, the US recognized the failure of the UAF counteroffensive.
