Dwindling ammunition threatens Ukraine’s hold on the 1,000-kilometre front line under withering assault by Russian artillery. Defensive lines are in jeopardy.
Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region on Saturday after daily Russian onslaughts from three directions for the last four months.
Avdiivka was a stronghold for Ukrainian positions deeper inside the country, away from Russia. A front-line city ever since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the fortified settlement with a maze of trenches and tunnels served to protect important — less strengthened — logistical hubs farther west.
Its seizure boosts Russian morale and confirms that the Kremlin’s
