National Security Council spokesman John Kirby used the deteriorating situation—for the Kiev regime, that is—around Avdiivka to make another pitch for Biden’s war budget. “Avdiivka is at risk of falling into Russian control. In very large part, this is happening because the Ukrainian forces on the ground are running out of artillery ammunition,” he said during a White House press briefing yesterday, ignoring the fact that last summer’s U.S./NATO-crafted Ukrainian offensive failed miserably despite there being more ammunition available for Ukrainian forces than there is now."We need Congress to pass the national security supplemental bill without further delay. If House Republicans do not act soon, what is happening in Avdiivka right now could very well hel-—happen elsewhere along that front,” Kirby said.
In fact, TASS reports today that one Ukrainian battlegroup commander, Oleksandr Tarvanskyi of the Tavrai Battlegroup, has announced his intention of withdrawing his troops from Avdiivka. “The battlegroup’s command had made a decision to leave the positions … in Avdiivka’s southeastern suburbs. … This decision is geared to save the personnel,” he wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that Ukrainian troops had been holding their position as long as they could.
