INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukraine said Monday it had withdrawn from the settlement of Lastochkyne in eastern Ukraine, which Russia said it had captured, the latest in
a string of Russian advances after the fall of Avdiivka.As the war enters its third year, Moscow's troops have mounted heavy attacks and
from the village of Lastochkyne to organize defenses along the line of Orlivka, Tonenke, Berdychi," Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro
Lykhoviy said.After a year of static frontlines, Russia has in recent weeks been seeking to press its advantage on the battlefield and
trying to advance beyond Avdiivka."In the area of Avdiivka, units..
liberated the village of Lastochkino and continued to improve the situation along the front line," the Russian Defense Ministry said in its
daily update, referring to the village by its Russian name.The small village is about five kilometers west of Avdiivka, which Russian forces
seized over a week ago.The battle for Avdiivka was one of the bloodiest of the two-year war, drawing comparisons with Russia's assault on
Bakhmut, which it captured last May.Facing manpower and ammunition shortages, Ukraine was forced to withdraw from the industrial hub in the
eastern Donetsk region, handing Moscow its first major territorial gain since Bakhmut.
