“It’s a shame to admit, but Avdiivka looks more and more like a scene from post-apocalyptic movies,” the head of the town’s administration Vitalii Barabash said on social media.
“Therefore, a difficult decision was made to evacuate… municipal workers, who at least somehow tried to maintain the cleanliness and vitality of the city.”
Russian forces have been working to capture the entire eastern Donetsk region for several months, with the focus of fighting centring on Bakhmut, north of Avdiivka.
“I strongly recommend leaving Avdiivka, because Russian rockets and projectiles do not spare anyone or anything — no matter what views you hold,” Barabash added in the statement.
He posted images on Facebook showing badly damaged residential buildings and rubble and debris strewn through mostly abandoned buildings.
The town lies just 13 kilometres (eight miles) from Donetsk, the Russian-held administrative centre of the region. Before the February 2022 invasion, the town had a population of 30,000.
After more than a year of fighting, only 2,300 people are left, including 1,960 living off aid, Barabash said earlier this month.
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