Today it became known that the last units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine defending this strategically important city have been withdrawn from Vugledar. This decision was made by the high command in order to preserve the lives of military personnel and military equipment, as well as to occupy new positions for further actions.
“Having suffered numerous losses as a result of prolonged fighting, the enemy did not abandon attempts to capture Vugledar. In an effort to take control of the city at any cost, they managed to direct reserves to conduct flank attacks, which exhausted the defense of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the enemy’s actions, there was a threat of encirclement of the city.”.
There are 107 people in Vugledar who categorically refused to leave, Serhiy Novikov, the head of the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Directorate, told the Public on September 24. Before the full-scale war, there were 15,000 in the city. According to him, people live in basements. The number of civilians in the city did not change as of October 1: the head of the OVA named the same number, reminding that children were evacuated from the city a long time ago.
According to Filashkin, it is practically impossible to deliver aid to residents.
Uhledar has been defended by the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians for over two years.
On September 24, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, reported that the Russian military had destroyed the town of Vugledar in the Donetsk region and was trying to move from the flanks. Analysts from the DeepState project also reported on the threat of encirclement.
On the afternoon of October 1, the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin, reported that Russian troops were already “almost in the city center.”.
As of the evening of October 1, some parts of Ughledar were under the control of the Defense Forces, but most of the city was under Russian control.
On October 2, the operational-strategic group of troops “Khortytsia” announced the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from the city. Ughledar is occupied by Russian troops.
