Ukraine’s army announced on Wednesday that it is withdrawing from the eastern town of Vuhledar due to intense Russian assaults and the looming threat of encirclement.
“The High Command has authorized a maneuver to withdraw units from Vuhledar to protect personnel and military equipment, allowing us to reposition for future operations,” stated the Khortytsia troop group via a Telegram post.
The unit claimed to have inflicted significant losses on Russian forces but noted that relentless attacks had created a “threat of encirclement.”
Earlier reports from the Ukrainian crowd-sourced tracking site DeepState indicated that Russian troops had gained control of the town.
Soldiers from Ukraine’s 72nd Mechanized Brigade, which had been defending Vuhledar, confirmed their withdrawal to the BBC, revealing they were compelled to escape on foot and likely suffered substantial personnel losses.
Moscow has yet to comment on the reported capture.
The fall of Vuhledar, often referred to as a “fortress city” due to its fortified defenses and elevated position, would represent a significant victory for Russia after months of grinding advances in the region.
Russian forces have made several attempts to seize this strategic former coal-mining town throughout the two-and-a-half-year invasion, incurring heavy losses in the process, including thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, as reported by the Financial Times.
Ukrainian military analyst Ivan Stupak previously described Vuhledar as a gateway to the southern Donbas region, emphasizing that its capture would facilitate further Russian operations in the area.
Despite Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August and September, Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine has gained momentum, with Russian troops edging closer to capturing Pokrovsk, a vital logistics hub located about 50 kilometers north of Vuhledar.
