Ukraine's military will pull out of Vuhledar in the east after 2 years of intense fighting

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine, after more than two years of grinding battle, military officials said Wednesday.

Vuhledar, a town Ukrainian forces fought tooth and nail to keep, is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians as the war stretches deep into its third year and the Ukrainian army is gradually being pushed backward in the eastern Donetsk province.

It follows a vicious summer campaign along the eastern front that saw Kyiv cede several thousand square kilometers (square miles) of territory as the Russian army hacks its way westward, obliterating towns and villages with missiles, glide bombs, artillery and drones.

Ukraine’s Khortytsia ground forces formation, which commands eastern regions including Donetsk, said in a statement posted on Telegram it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to “protect military personnel and equipment.”

“In an attempt to take control of the city at any cost, (Russian) reserves were directed to carry out flanking attacks, which exhausted the defense of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the enemy’s actions, there arose a threat of encircling the city,” the statement said.

The tactical significance of the town, situated at the confluence of two major roads, is two-fold. Dominant heights and proximity to railway lines offer Moscow greater protection for their own logistics routes, and a better vantage point for attacks against Ukrainian forces and supply lines feeding the south.

Its capture is another notch in Moscow’s belt, bringing it closer to the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - A part of a rocket sticks from a ground in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

FILE - This image provided by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and taken in February 2023 shows damaged Russian tanks in a field after an attack on Vuhledar, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Armed Forces via AP, File)

FILE - A destroyed car is seen in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman of 68 Oleksa Dovbush hunting brigade drives by M113 armoured vehicle towards frontline positions near Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

FILE - A residential building which was destroyed by Russian forces is seen through the broken window, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

FILE - A Ukrainian marine serviceman runs to take a position through the residential blocks in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

FILE - An aerial view of Vuhledar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of two doctors charged in the investigation of the death of Matthew Perry is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in a federal court in Los Angeles to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine.

Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, signed a plea agreement with prosecutors in August and would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the “Friends” star’s fatal overdose last year.

Prosecutors offered lesser charges to Chavez and two others in exchange for their cooperation as they go after two targets they deem more responsible for the overdose death: another doctor and an alleged dealer that they say was known as “ketamine queen” of Los Angeles.

Chavez is free on bond after turning over his passport and surrendering his medical license, among other conditions.

His lawyer Matthew Binninger said after Chavez's first court appearance on Aug. 30 that he is “incredibly remorseful” and is “trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here.”

Also working with federal prosecutors are Perry’s assistant, who admitted to helping him obtain and inject ketamine, and a Perry acquaintance, who admitted to acting as a drug messenger and middleman.

The three are helping prosecutors in their prosecution of Dr. Salvador Plasencia, charged with illegally selling ketamine to Perry in the month before his death, and Jasveen Sangha, a woman who authorities say sold the actor the lethal dose of ketamine. Both have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Chavez admitted in his plea agreement that he obtained ketamine from his former clinic and from a wholesale distributor where he submitted a fraudulent prescription.

After a guilty plea, he could get up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced.

Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28. The medical examiner ruled ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common.

Perry began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him. About a month before the actor's death, he found Plasencia, who in turn asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to.”

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit sitcom.

FILE - Matthew Perry appears at the GQ Men of the Year Party in West Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Dr. Mark Chavez, center, a physician from San Diego, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, arrives at the Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)