“Kirill Budanov... acknowledged the difficult situation of the Ukrainian troops, which are inferior in numbers and weapons,” the American newspaper Wall Street Journal reports, citing Budanov.
On February 2, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian troops had liberated the settlements of Vesyoloye, Krakhmalnoye and Tabaevka in the special operation zone over the past month.
On February 17, Shoigu reported to Putin about the capture of Avdeevka. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 1.5 thousand military personnel in the battles for Avdeevka per day.