Military: Ukraine withdraws from Stepove, Severne near Avdiivka

Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the villages of Stepove and Severne near Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, the spokesman for Ukraine's Tavria Operational Strategic Grouping of Forces, Dmytro Lykhovii, said on a national TV broadcast on 27 February. A day before, Lykhovii reported that the Ukrainian military withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne, located 6 km from Avdiivka, and now plans to organize a defense along the line of settlements Orlivka, Tonenke, and Berdychi. According to the spokesman, around 100 people lived in Stepove and Severne before Russia’s full-scale invasion. This is occurring amid an ongoing Russian offensive in the Avdiivka direction. On 17 February 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the withdrawal of units from Avdiivka. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia's losses there are seven times higher than Ukraine's. On 19 February, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria Operational Strategic Grouping of Forces, assured that the Ukrainian military has begun establishing new defense lines. Read also:

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