Moscow/kyiv, Feb. 18 -- Russia on Sunday said it had full control of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdrew though Moscow said that some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant after one of the most intense battles of the war.

The fall of Avdiivka is Russia's biggest gain since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, and comes almost two years to the day since President Vladimir Putin triggered a full-scale war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry said its troops had advanced 8.6 km (5.3 miles) in that part of the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line, and that Russian troops were pressing forward after a deadly urban battle that has left the town an almost completely dep...