2:00 pm two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and two others wounded. One female civilian was killed by shelling in the morning, three male civilians were injured. Seventy-seven persons, most of them children, were evacuated from Avdiivka during the morning. On 2 February, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed at Avdiivka in the course of repulsing one of the numerous assaults by pro-Russian forces. By morning of 2 February at least 145 civilians, and as of 5:00 pm 183 civilian residents, including 107 children, had been evacuated from Avdiivka. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Ukraine had aggravated the situations so that it would look like a victim and that the Ukrainian government thought this would make it easier to gain foreign funding. He also believed that the renewed fighting was started by Ukraine to deflect attention and "Kyiv's attempts to struggle with the opposition at home". The same day NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia "to use its considerable influence over the separatists to bring the violence to an end." On the morning of 4 February, a relative calm settled on the Avdiivka area after a ceasefire was established. Ukraine said its troops improved their positions ("on approaches to Donetsk") when they counterattacked during the battle, specifically gaining a foothold near Spartak and advancing across the Donetsk-Horlivka road near Tsarskoye Selo. On 5 February, fighting continued to ease. The Ukrainian military stated no soldiers had been killed in the previous 24 hours for the first time since the start of the battle, although two soldiers were wounded. During the day, electricity was restored and heating returned to Avdiivka. During the battle, Ukrainian soldiers received text messages sent from unknown numbers that read, "You are just meat to your commanders," "Your body will be found when the snow melts," and, "You're like the Germans in Stalingrad." In early February 2017, Ukrainian media said that during the fighting, two top separatist commanders were killed and one was wounded. See also Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War Avdiivka Coke Plant Second Battle of Donetsk Airport Battle of Marinka Battle of Svitlodarsk Battle of Avdiivka (2022) Ukrainian Volunteer Army References External links Tom Burridge, Eastern Ukraine conflict: A new, bloody chapter, BBC News, 2 February 2017 Avdiivka 2017 in Ukraine History of Donetsk Oblast Avdiivka January 2017 events in Ukraine February 2017 events in Ukraine Avdiivka