By Guy FaulconbridgeMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday that its forces had inflicted a series of defeats on Ukrainian forces along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line just as Ukrainian troops withdrew from the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka.
Avdiivka is seen as a gateway to Donetsk city, whose residential areas Russian officials say have been shelled by Ukrainian forces, sometimes from Avdiivka.
The New York Times reported that there had been chaotic scenes as Ukrainian forces retreated, with some of their wounded abandoned and soldiers starved of ammunition.
Russian forces control a little under one fifth of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory.
In the month to Feb. 13, Russian forces added 35 square miles of territory while Ukraine added just one square mile, according to the Belfer Center's Russia-Ukraine War Report Card.
Persons:
Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yuri Podolyak, Guy Faulconbridge, Giles Elgood
Organizations:
Russia's, Ukrainian, Europe's, New York Times
Locations:
Russia, Avdiivka, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Donetsk, Luhansk, Ukrainian