Russian Forces Fully Control Avdiivka Coke Plant

Russian official news agencies reported today, Monday, that Russian forces have fully taken control of the Avdiivka chemical and coke plant after most of the town fell into their hands over the weekend following months of intense fighting. Russia announced yesterday, Sunday, that Ukrainian units were holed up inside the plant located at the northwestern tip of Avdiivka. The TASS news agency quoted a statement from the Ministry of Defense saying, "Russian flags have been raised over the administrative buildings of the plant." The Russian media outlet also published a short aerial video showing sporadic explosions across what appeared to be an industrial complex. Reuters could not independently verify the video or the reports. The fall of Avdiivka is the largest gain for Russia since its capture of the city of Bakhmut, and comes nearly two years after President Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, Avdiivka had a population of around 32,000 people and was briefly seized by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014, who controlled a broad area of eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces reclaimed it and built extensive fortifications. Avdiivka is located in the industrial Donbas region, 15 kilometers north of the Russian-occupied Donetsk. Before the war, the Soviet-era coke plant was one of the largest in Europe. Ukraine has not issued any comments yet. However, on Saturday, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, stated that his troops withdrew to safer positions outside the town "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of the soldiers."