The retreat of Ukrainian military forces from Avdiivka near Donetsk was poorly organized, according to The Washington Post. Ukrainian soldiers and sources from the United States government have reported that a portion of the troops were unable to leave the city before it came under the control of Russian forces.
Sources have revealed that dozens of Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) soldiers remain in Russian territory. Some estimates suggest that as many as 1,000 soldiers may have been left behind, but Washington considers these figures to be exaggerated. Other reports suggest that between 25 and 100 Ukrainian soldiers are now in captivity.
The 110th Brigade of the Ukrainian military reported that the actions of Russian forces made it impossible to evacuate several heavily wounded and deceased soldiers. A source noted that the soldiers from this brigade were exhausted, as they had not been rotated for nearly two years. As a result, they left their positions “without prior coordination.” According to the source, the soldiers were ordered to “take positions that had already been either lost or destroyed.”
Sergei, the commander of the 53rd Brigade, told the American publication that his battalion managed to leave Avdiivka, but others “truly got stuck” after the arrival of Russian troops. Sergei highlighted the poor organization of the retreat and added that the loss of the city “psychologically broke the guys a bit.”
Regarding the Russian offensive, he said, “There were a lot of guided air bombs, a lot of aviation. Honestly, most people are in shock from all of this.”
Dmitry Kukharchuk, the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, described the fighting in Avdiivka as “probably the toughest battle” of the entire conflict. He revealed that his subordinates had not slept for nine days.
The city of Avdiivka is located less than 10 km north of Donetsk.
On the night of February 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, announced the withdrawal of troops from Avdiivka and the “transition to defense on more advantageous positions.” At the Munich Security Conference, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the decision to leave the city, which was one of the main strongholds of the UAF near Donetsk, was made to save lives.
The withdrawal of troops from Avdiivka, according to Western media reports, was one of the reasons for the disagreements between the President of Ukraine and the former Chief of General Staff of the UAF. Valeriy Zaluzhny, according to Bild, wanted to withdraw the military from the city several weeks ago, but Zelensky refused and personally visited Avdiivka on December 30.
On the evening of February 17, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu reported to Vladimir Putin about the complete seizure of the city.
Earlier, a resident of Kuzbass was detained for attempting to join the ranks of the UAF.
