Ukrainian troops retreat from crucial eastern town as Russian forces advance

After more than two years of fighting, Kyiv's forces have withdrawn from a key eastern town as Russian troops advance, News.Az reports citing The Independent.

Ukraine’s eastern military command pulled back from Vuhledar, Donetsk, as Vladimir Putin’s troops claimed it had seized the area.

The town, which had a population of 14,000 before the war, was a bastion of resistance that saw off Russian attacks ever since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

“Senior command granted permission to carry out a maneuver to withdraw units from Vuhledar in order to preserve personnel and military equipment, and take positions for further actions,” Kyiv’s military said.

Russian telegram channels published videos of soldiers waving the Russian tricolour flag over destroyed buildings in the town.

The town finally fell when the last of Ukraine’s 72nd Mechanised Brigade, a unit famous for its resistance, left late on Tuesday, local media reported.

Control of the area, which lies at the intersection of the eastern and southern battlefields, is significant because it will ease Russia’s advance as it tries to pierce deeper behind the Ukrainian defensive lines.

Putin has said his primary goal is to take the whole of the Donbas region - the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk - in southeastern Ukraine.

His forces control about 80 per cent of this area, a heavy industry hub where the conflict began in 2014 after Moscow supported pro-Russian separatist forces after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled.

The capture of Vuhledar is part of Moscow’s pursuit of the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk, just 20 miles (30 kilometres) north, according to analysts.

The next step for Russian forces would be to drive Ukrainian forces out of the nearby city of Kurakhove, which could lead to Pokrovsk, Ivan Tymochko, chairman of the Council of Reservists of Ukraine’s ground forces, said.

“This line is interconnected and the enemy will not be able to enter Pokrovsk and come close to Pokrovsk unless it can drive our troops out of Kurakhove,” Mr Tymochko said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine destroyed 11 of 32 Russian drones launched overnight, Kyiv’s air force said on Wednesday.

News.Az