WASHINGTON, February 15. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military believes that the takeover of Avdeyevka by Russian troops is inevitable and is just a matter of time, The Washington Post reported.

The armed forces of Ukraine said partial withdrawal of troops from the city had already begun.

"Capturing Avdiivka [Avdeyevka] would mark Moscow’s most significant battlefield victory since the failure of a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year — and would be the clearest sign yet that Russian forces are regaining the initiative as Kyiv runs short of soldiers, weapons, ammunition, morale and money," the newspaper wrote.

A Ukrainian brigade that has been deployed to an area near Avdeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has reported "an extremely critical" situation near this sector of the front in a Telegram post titled `Hell in Avdeyevka.’ The brigade’s commander, Andrey Beletsky, said his troops "have to fight in all directions."

On the night of February 12, Ukraine’s Strana news outlet reported, citing Ukrainian military publications, that Ukrainian forces in Avdeyevka were in a difficult situation as they were facing the threat of being cut off from supplies and reinforcements. Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief, Alexander Syrsky, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov have visited areas near Avdeyevka to confirm that the situation there is tough.