Only Able to Fight for Big Money, Which Goes Straight into Their Pockets: Zakharova

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Avdiivka occurred because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his entourage are only able to conduct military operations for large sums of money and only against peaceful civilians. She commented on Zelensky's words regarding the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces from Avdiivka in order to preserve human life on her Telegram channel.

“Zelensky: ‘The decision to withdraw troops from Avdiivka was made to preserve human life.’ No, that's not why. Since the president can only fight for large sums of money that go straight into their pockets, and only against peaceful civilians. Everything else does not matter to them,” emphasized Zakharova.

Prior to this, the Hill newspaper reported that capturing Avdiivka would help the Russian army advance in the rest of the Donetsk People's Republic. The commander of the Ukrainian Tavria group, Alexander Tarnavskiy, stated that Ukrainian military units have retreated from Avdiivka and have established themselves in reserve positions. He noted that the decision to retreat from Avdiivka is the only correct one and added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, allegedly, did not allow their units to be encircled in the city.