The city had a population of 31,392 (2022 estimate)[3] before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it was reported as 1,600[inconsistent] in October 2023, and then "just over 1,000", mostly living below ground level.

[4][5][needs update] Avdiivka was within the claimed boundaries of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, before Russia declared its annexation of the region in September 2022.

During the Russian invasion beginning in 2022, heavy fighting led to most of its population fleeing and the city being largely destroyed.

[6] The presence of nomadic peoples in the area of Avdiivka dates back to at least the ninth to thirteenth centuries, as evidenced by a stone sculpture (or baba) that was discovered in a mound.

[7] The first settlement on the territory of the modern city was founded c. 1770,[8] by fugitive serfs from the Kursk, Voronezh and Poltava Governorates.

The fertile land attracted more settlers over time, and Avdiivka was located near a postal route connecting Mariupol and Bakhmut.

In November 1920, Nestor Makhno ordered the detachment of Fyodor Shuss to occupy Avdiivka and the village near it.

[9] During the War in Donbas, starting in April 2014, pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast;[10][11] including Avdiivka.

[14][15] According to the OSCE, the area between Avdiivka and neighboring separatist-controlled Yasynuvata is one of the hotspots of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

[24] On 24 October 2023, BBC News reported that "just over 1,000" people, or 3% of the city's pre-war population, were still living in Avdiivka.

[5] On 22 February 2023, Governor of Donetsk Oblast Pavlo Kyrylenko declared that Avdiivka was almost completely destroyed.

[26] Beginning on 14 October 2023, Russia made a general push to attempt to encircle the city once more, at first with very limited success and high losses of soldiers, armour and other important assets.

[32] Local heating energy prior to the war was normally provided via natural gas from the Avdiivka Coke Plant.