Putin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as an important victory and congratulated Russian troops. "The 'Centre' grouping of troops, taking the offensive, took full control of the coke plant in Avdiivka," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement alongside video showing a series of blasts in what appeared to be the plant. Russian state television showed blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags being taken down in Avdiivka and Russia's white, blue and red tricolour flag raised, including over the coke plant. Before the war, the Soviet-era coke plant was one of Europe's biggest. 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.
