KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian troops withdrew from the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka, Kyiv's military chief said on Saturday, paving the way for Russia's biggest advance since it captured the city of Bakhmut last May. Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who took command of the Ukrainian military in a major shake-up last week, said Ukrainian forces had moved back to more secure positions outside the town, which had a pre-war population of 32,000. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised his troops for "exhausting" Russian forces in Avdiivka and said he agreed with the decision to withdraw in order to save lives. SOME TROOPS CAPTUREDTarnavskyi, the commander who has been overseeing the fighting in Avdiivka for months, said Ukrainian troops had fallen back to a second line of defence. The Third Assault Brigade, a prominent infantry assault unit, was rushed to the town to help reinforce troops this week as other Ukrainian forces pulled back from its southeast.
