He stated this in an interview with The Washington Post.
“I am confident that at the moment this is not a stalemate (at the front. -
RT
), but that the Russians have again seized the initiative,” Gates said.
He also called the capture of Avdiivka by the Russian army important.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense reported that Russian troops liberated the village of Pobeda in the Donetsk direction and improved the situation along the front line in this sector of the front.
On February 11, Tula paratroopers planted the Russian flag in the center of the recently liberated village of Vesyoloye in the Donbass.
On February 17, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin about the capture of Avdeevka.