Ukraine invites Trump to the frontline as troops retreat from Avdiivka

Ukrainian troops have waged a bloody battle in the city of Avdiivka for months (Picture: Getty)

Ukraine’s military chief said early on Saturday that he is withdrawing troops from Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, where they have battled a Russian assault for four months.

The besieged city has been the focal point of Russia’s offensive efforts for months as Vladimir Putin seeks a morale boost ahead of the second anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

In a short statement posted on Facebook early on Saturday, Ukrainian commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he had made the decision to avoid encirclement and ‘preserve the lives and health of servicemen’.

The commander-in-chief added that troops were moving to ‘more favorable lines’.

The Russian army has been desperate to capture the city ahead of the second anniversary of their invasion (Piture: Getty)

The statement said: ‘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.

‘We are taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain our positions.’

The withdrawal comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today warned western allies that a lack of long-range weapons is limiting the country’s fightback against Vladimir Putin’s forces, following concerns about wavering support for the war effort among US Republicans.

Both Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer travelled to the Munich Security Conference with a message of firm British backing for Kyiv.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Donald Trump to the frontlines of the war amid criticism from US republicans (Picture: EPA)

The Ukrainian President, who spoke alongside other world leaders at the German gathering, also said he is willing to take US presidential frontrunner Donald Trump to the Ukrainian frontline.

Republicans aligned to former American president Donald Trump have been vocal in expressing scepticism about funding for the fight in eastern Europe.

Mr Zelensky said that he was willing to show Mr Trump the ‘real’ war.

‘If Mr Trump will come, I am ready to go with him to the frontline.

‘What does it mean, the real war – not Instagram, the real war?’ the Ukrainian President said.

The withdrawal was Col Gen Syrskyi’s first major test since being appointed as Ukraine’s new army chief last week.

In his previous position as commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, he faced criticism for holding on to the city of Bakhmut for nine months, a siege that became the war’s longest and bloodiest battle and cost Ukraine dearly, but also served to sap Russia’s forces.

Around 15,000 Russian troops are attempting to take the city from Ukraine (Picture: Getty)

In recent days, reports emerged that Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka faced a deteriorating situation.

Rodion Kudriashov, deputy commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, said on Friday that Ukrainian troops were still holding out against the onslaught of about 15,000 Russian soldiers, but he expected the situation would ‘soon become critical’.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that Russian forces were beginning to overwhelm Ukrainian defences in the eastern city.

He said Avdiivka is at risk of falling to Russia, a development he blamed ‘in very large part’ on the fact that Ukrainian forces are running out of artillery ammunition.

Heavily fortified with a web of tunnels and concrete fortifications, Avdiivka lies in the northern suburbs of Donetsk, a city in a region of the same name that Russian forces partially occupy.

Capturing Avdiivka could be a timely boost for Moscow and serve as a possible springboard for Russia to drive deeper into the region.

Fewer than 1,000 people remain in the city, according to the Donetsk regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. The city, with a pre-war population of about 31,000, is today a bombed-out shell of what it once was.

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However, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said on Thursday that taking Avdiivka would be more of a symbolic win for the Kremlin and would not bring significant changes to the 1,500-kilometre (930-mile) front line that has barely budged in recent months.

Lord Cameron, who has been explicit in his call for Republicans to back Ukraine, did not comment directly on the withdrawal, but pointed to successes for Kyiv elsewhere.

‘Things that happen in Ukraine, that is for the Ukraine armed forces to decide,’ the Foreign Secretary said.

‘But I would point you towards the Black Sea, where yet again another Russian ship has been sunk by incredibly brave Ukrainian action.’

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