Days after taking control of the strategic Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his plans to penetrate further into the neighbouring country to consolidate the position of his forces on the ground.
Vladimir Putin also claimed that as Russian forces entered the town of Avdiivka, Ukrainian troops left their positions in chaos.
This gain is being considered as one of the major since the fall of Bakhmut in May 2023.
According to the video clips released by the Russian defence ministry, almost every house in the town of 32,000 people had been branded with war.
President Putin said Tuesday the Ukrainian order to withdraw from the town had been announced after Ukrainian troops had already begun to flee in chaos, adding that all captured Ukrainian soldiers should be accorded their rights under international conventions on prisoners.
In the Kremlin, Putin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu: "As for the overall situation in Avdiivka, this is an absolute success, I congratulate you. It needs to be built on."
"But that development must be well-prepared, provided with personnel, weapons, equipment, and ammunition," the 71-year-old President said, adding that "it seems to be self-evident, but nevertheless I draw your attention to it."
While speaking with CNN, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba blamed the Washington aid deal saying: “Avdiivka would not have fallen had Kyiv received weapons held up by the US Congress' failure to approve a large aid package.”
"We wouldn't [have lost] Avdiivka if we had all the artillery ammunition that we needed to defend it. Russia does not intend to pause or withdraw...Once Avdiivka is under their control, they undoubtedly will choose another city and begin to storm it," Kuleba said.
He also said that the Ukrainian troops were "making miracles...but the reason they have to sacrifice themselves and die is that someone is still debating a decision. I want everyone to remember that every day of debate in one place means another death in another place."
The US Senate this month passed a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, however, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson declined to bring it on the flor for the voting.
Avdiivka is located in the industrial Donbas region, 15 km (9 miles) north of Donetsk. Prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, Avdiivka's Soviet-era coke plant was one of Europe's biggest.
Shoigu said Russian forces had also taken control of the village of Krynky in Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Ukraine's southern military command said its troops had held their positions on the left bank of the River Dnipro and that Russian attacks were unsuccessful.