After Ukraine failed to break through Russian lines last year, Moscow is seeking to withdraw Ukrainian forces while Kiev considers a fullscale new mobilization.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week named a new commander to lead the war.
Putin sent tens of thousands of soldiers to Ukraine in February 2022, triggering an allout war after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces on the one hand and proRussian Ukrainians and Russian proxies on the other.
Avdiivka, called Avdeyevka by Russians, has endured a decade of conflict. It has special symbolism for Russia as it was briefly captured in 2014 by Moscowbacked separatists who captured part of eastern Ukraine, but was recaptured by Ukrainian troops who built extensive fortifications.
Avdiivka is located in the Donbas industrial region, 15 km north of the Russiancontrolled Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Before the war, the Sovietera coking plant was one of the largest in Europe.
Shoigu said Russian forces had also taken control of the village of Krynky in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. Ukraine's southern military command said its troops held their positions on the left bank of the Dnipro River and that Russian attacks were unsuccessful.