Ukrainian troops on Saturday withdrew from the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka after a year-long battle, Kyiv’s new military chief said, all but handing a victory and key position to Russia. The decision was made to save Kyiv’s troops fighting in the bombed-out town from being encircled by Russians, according to Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who took his post last week following a major reshuffling in military leadership. “I decided to withdraw our units from the town and move to defense from more favorable lines in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen,” Syrskyi said. Read more at https://nypost.com/2024/02/17/world-news/ukraine-withdraws-from-avdiivka-handing-russia-key-victory/ #ukraine #russia #avdiivka The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more. Subscribe to New York Post Sports: https://www.youtube.com/c/nypostsports Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/ Follow The New York Post on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost