Russia claims full control of Avdiivka after Ukrainian retreat | Ukraine

Russia has said it has taken full control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, its biggest gain since capturing Bakhmut last May, after a retreat by Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city in the industrial Donbas region to avoid encirclement, the army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Saturday, adding that he had acted to “preserve the lives and health of servicemen”, stabilise the situation and move troops to more favourable defence lines.

Some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant, one of Europe’s biggest, Russia said,…