The fall of Vuhledar. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers trapped. Russia surrounds key fortress city

Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers ‘trapped’ after Russia surrounds fortress city in rapid advance

Evacuation routes out of Vuhledar, towards the southern edge of the frontline, have been cut off

Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers could be trapped in a besieged town as Russian forces complete their encirclement and close in.

In a desperate plea, one Ukrainian soldier described how evacuation routes out of Vuhledar had been cut and food, ammunition and fuel were running low.

“The situation in Vuhledar is, to put it mildly, difficult,” the unnamed Ukrainian soldier told Stanislav Bunyatov, a Ukrainian soldier and blogger. “The attack is now coming from three sides.”

The soldier said that it was too dangerous for Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers to drive towards friendly lines because of Russian artillery and drone attacks.

Instead, he described how individual units were trying to quietly slip out of the Russian encirclement at night in fighting retreat formations.

“On average, if 10 people leave the city in groups, four to six make it out,” he said.

The soldiers’ complaints were published the day after senior Ukrainian commanders withdrew the commander of Ukraine’s 72nd Brigade that has been defending Vuhledar.

Colonel Ivan Vinnik is reportedly highly regarded and has been tipped for a promotion but some commentators said that he had been withdrawn because he needed to be “saved” before the town was lost.

Vuhledar, towards the southern edge of the front line that runs through Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, has been described as a Ukrainian “fortress” because it has never been captured.

Even Ukrainian and neutral information sources have said that Vuhledar, positioned on high ground overlooking an important east-west road, is likely to fall.

DeepState, a pro-Ukraine Telegram channel, confirmed that Russia has sent “regular forces and special forces” as reinforcements to the area and OSINT Aggregator said Ukraine “may have tried to hold Vuhledar longer than operationally feasible”.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

At this point I am sick of both sides and wish they would # off in tandem

a reply to: Imhere

originally posted by: Athetos
At this point I am sick of both sides and wish they would # off in tandem

a reply to: Imhere

Agreed. Enough life’s taken and money spent. For what? The same outcome as it would be in a year or two or three? Ughhh