As we approach the two-year mark of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, Russian forces have captured the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. The victory came at a stunning cost to Russia, but it shows President Vladimir Putin’s determination is unwavering and his position is strengthening.

In the northern suburbs of the eastern city of Donetsk, Avdiivka had a population of around 32,000 before the war. But Russia began assaulting the city in October and essentially surrounded it on three sides, prompting all but a few hundred residents to flee.

Since Ukrainian positions in the city were well fortified, military analysts say Ukrainian forces were able to kill or wound seven to eight Russians for every casualty they incurred. Even pro-Russian reporter Andrei “Murz” Morozov admitted that during the four months when Russia was pushing hard to take Avdiivka, a minimum of 16,000 Russian soldiers were killed and around twice that number were wounded. Britain’s Ministry of Defense estimated that Russia lost some 400 tanks in the campaign.

For perspective, when the Soviet Union tried to conquer Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, it lost a total of 15,000 troops. That campaign was for a whole country and lasted nearly a decade, while Avdiivka is a small city of questionable strategic value with a battle that lasted four months.

Even though the victory over Avdiivka came at an extraordinary cost, it represents the first notable change on the war’s front lines since Russia captured the city of Bakhmut last May. And it gives Putin a triumph he and his propagandists can point the Russian people to in the lead-up to next month’s presidential elections. This will give Putin’s “reelection” a veneer of legitimacy and facilitate his plan to mobilize hundreds of thousands of additional men to fight in Ukraine.

Though Putin failed in the early weeks of the war in his objective to swiftly seize key Ukrainian cities, he successfully repelled Ukraine’s highly anticipated counteroffensive last year, and he helped erode the political cohesion in the United States that had been resulting in aid to Ukraine. Now Putin has the political leverage to intensify his war and a new city, though in ruins, to raise his flag over.

If Putin’s forces can keep advancing past Avdiivka, they will eventually threaten the far more strategic location of Pokrovsk, which would massively bolster Russian momentum.

Regardless of the war’s immediate developments, Russia will likely emerge victorious. This is because of what Gerald Flurry, the editor in chief of the Trumpet, has highlighted concerning Putin’s significance in biblical prophecy. Various passages within the Bible describe a formidable, end-time alliance of Asian nations. This alliance is discussed in the books of Daniel, Joel and Revelation, as well as especially detailed passages in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Verse 2 of Ezekiel 38 says this Asian alliance will be led by a “prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal” (Young’s Literal Translation). Mr. Flurry has maintained since late 2013 that these three names refer to Russia and two of its key cities, and that this passage is describing Vladimir Putin.

In his booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia,’ he writes:

[Putin’s] track record, his nationality and his ideology show that he is fulfilling a linchpin Bible prophecy. The time frame of his rule also shows that nobody else could be fulfilling the Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy. … We need to watch Vladimir Putin closely. He is the “prince of Rosh” whom God inspired Ezekiel to write about 2,500 years ago!

However it happens, we should expect Putin to survive the war and lead a colossal Asian alliance. Mr. Flurry’s booklet shows this means some profoundly dark years lie ahead for Ukraine, Russia and the entire world. But he also stresses that this darkness will be short-lived and will give way to a hope-filled future. He writes:

Vladimir Putin is a sign, literally a SIGN, [of] one of the most inspiring messages in the Bible. What we are seeing in Russia ultimately leads to the transition from man ruling man to God ruling man! … A great transition is about to occur.

To understand the details of these Bible prophecies and what Mr. Flurry calls “the most inspiring message in the Bible,” order your free copy of The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’