Ukrainian troops pull back again amid Russia’s onslaught in east of country

Russian forces have completed their takeover of Avdiivka (Head of the Russian-controlled Donetsk region Denis Pushilin telegram channel via AP)

Ukrainian troops have pulled out of a village in the east of the country, an army spokesman said on Monday, as Russian forces make their advantages in manpower and ammunition tell on the battlefield at the start of the war’s third year.

The latest setback for Kyiv’s soldiers was in the village of Lastochkyne, where they fell back to nearby villages in an attempt to hold the line there, said Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesman for one of the Ukrainian troop groupings.