The Ukrainian Armed Forces have declared their withdrawal from the strategic town of Avdiivka.

Situated northwest of Donetsk city, the town has experienced some of the most intense fighting in the ongoing war, with Russia escalating its attacks in recent weeks.

“Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defense on more favorable lines,” Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Facebook post on Friday.

He said Ukrainian soldiers “did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units and inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment” in the area, CNN reported.

Ukraine is “taking measures to stabilize the situation and maintain positions,” he said, adding “the life of military personnel is of the highest value.”

Written by B.C. Begley