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What happened near Avdiivka by 29 February 2024?
Summary
A look back at the Ukrainian pullbacks near Avdiivka and Russia's reaction to Sweden's NATO accession, as reported in the days before 29 February 2024.
What did the security picture look like on 29 February 2024? Two developments, reported in the preceding days, framed it: further Ukrainian pullbacks in Donetsk Oblast and a new line from Moscow toward NATO.
On the ground, the Ukrainian military withdrew from the villages of Sieverne and Stepove near Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, as reported on 27 February 2024. The move followed the announcement on 26 February of its withdrawal from the nearby village of Lastochkyne. Within a day, three villages around Avdiivka had been given up.
The diplomatic signal came on 28 February 2024, when Russia announced that it would take retaliatory "military-technical" steps in response to Sweden joining NATO. The announcement did not spell out what those steps would be.
Taken together, the reports from those days showed pressure on Ukrainian positions in the east alongside a hardening Russian stance toward the alliance's enlargement.
