Ukrainian troops withdrew from the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka, Ukraine's new army chief said in the early hours of Saturday, paving the way for Russia's biggest advance since May 2023 when it captured the city of Bakhmut. The withdrawal, announced as Ukraine faces acute shortages of ammunition with U.S. military aid delayed for months in Congress, aimed to save troops from being fully surrounded by Russian forces after months of fierce fighting, Kyiv said. General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who took the helm of the Ukrainian military in a major shakeup last week, said Ukrainian forces had moved back to more secure positions outside the town that had a pre-war population of 32,000.
Kyiv’s new military leadership has said it is bolstering the defense of Avdiivka, but experts warn that Ukraine may face unsustainable losses by fighting to protect the town.
Ukraine has refused to remove Raiffeisen Bank International from a "sponsors of war" blacklist, challenging the biggest Western bank in Russia to sever its ties to Moscow. In a letter sent to Raiffeisen earlier this month, which was seen by Reuters, Ukrainian officials questioned what the bank was doing to leave Russia, saying much of its plans were vague and incomplete. The correspondence ratchets up pressure on one of Austria's largest banks and adds to tensions between Kyiv and Austria, whose political leaders are also lobbying to have Raiffeisen taken off the list, having earlier secured a temporary suspension.
A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in Kyiv this week for a three-day visit to meet with Ukrainian officials. The team will head to Warsaw later this week for the IMF’s review of its loan program for Ukraine that could unlock the next $900 million tranche of aid. Ahead of the visit, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 9 that Ukrainian officials were preparing to present the IMF delegation with a plan that included expanded domestic bond sales, tax hikes, and spending cuts to fill gaps in the budget in the event U.S. aid remains stalled in Congress.