The Defense Ministry announced on its Telegram channel that Shoigu had reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin that the troops of the Center group, led by Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev, had completely taken control of the city of Avdiivka.
The ministry said that the Russian troops had taken control of territory of 31.75 square kilometers from the Ukrainian forces, and that Ukraine had lost more than 1,500 servicemen in the battles for Avdiivka in the last 24 hours.
The full control of Avdiivka had allowed the Russian troops to push back the front line from Donetsk, thus significantly securing the military from Ukrainian attacks, the ministry added, Xinhua reported.
MP/PR
