Western allies bear responsibility for Ukraine’s withdrawal from the embattled city of Avdiivka, one NATO foreign minister has said, as Ukrainian commanders blame a severe ammunition drought for Kyiv’s most-significant battlefield loss since Bakhmut was abandoned in summer 2023.
“All the countries have this responsibility,” Margus Tsakhna told Newsweek on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday. The minister had been asked whether the slow or frozen delivery of U.S. and allied munitions was to blame for the gradual and costly Ukrainian retreats in the devastated settlement.
Newsweek spoke with Tsakhna as reports began emerging that Ukraine’s years-long defense of the city was turning into a withdrawal under intense Russian pressure. This was confirmed early on Saturday by Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, who said the order was given “to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen.”
Kyiv’s forces, Syrsky said, will “move to defense on more favorable lines.” The commander added: “Our soldiers performed their military duty with dignity; did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units; inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment.”
Ukrainian forces have been dug in around Avdiivka since 2014, fighting first Moscow-controlled separatist forces, and later Russian regular formations. The fortress city has been a focus of fighting throughout Russia’s two-year full-scale invasion, and at the heart of Moscow’s ongoing winter offensive campaign.
Kyiv’s units have been outgunned throughout, partially due to the slow arrival of artillery shells committed by the European Union and the freeze in U.S. military aid precipitated by partisan conflict in Congress.
“The EU promised 1 million rounds of ammunition—it was an Estonian initiative—for this March,” Tsakhna said. “We have done half of that. A good thing is that now all the EU countries gave the commitments that it will happen during the next half-a-year, up to the end of this year,” the foreign minister added, noting the goal is now 1.1 million shells. “But it’s too slow,” Tsakhna said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky noted the lack of weapons when he addressed the Munich Security Conference on Saturday morning. “Keeping Ukraine in the artificial deficits of weapons, particularly in a deficit of artillery and long-range capabilities, allows [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war,” he said.
The withdrawal from Avdiivka, Zelensky added, was intended to “save our soldiers’ lives.” He added: “Please do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself why Putin is still able to continue it.”
