The enemy in Avdiivka was given a decent fight, said the commander of the 3rd separate assault brigade Andriy Biletsky, UNN reports citing the brigade's Telegram channel.
I thank the soldiers for the worthy fight they gave the enemy in Avdiivka, in the face of total numerical superiority of the Russians in manpower, equipment and shells. They did everything and more. I thank everyone for their resilience. We are retreating to prepared positions to return and strike an even stronger blow. I am grateful to the command for their balanced decision. The battle continues
Recall
On February 15, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade confirmed that they had been urgently redeployed to the area of Avdiivka in Donetsk region to reinforce Ukrainian troops.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported on the night of February 17 that "based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of the military, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defense on more favorable lines.