Avdiivka fell, Ukrainian soldiers opened a bloody path to withdraw from the besieged fortress 0
(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian soldiers faced many difficulties when withdrawing from Avdiivka after Russia declared control of this city.
Ukrainian soldiers of the 71st Jaeger Brigade in the Avdiivka area (Photo: New York Times).
The new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Aleksandr Syrsky announced the withdrawal of troops from the city of Avdiivka at dawn on February 17.
Reports of Ukrainian forces withdrawing from Avdiivka, an area devastated by months of fierce fighting, began to spread earlier this week, while other reports said Russian forces had cut
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian fortress, and confirmed that scattered Ukrainian troops were trying to escape the city, fleeing chaotically under Russian fire and leaving behind their weapons.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said `the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Syrsky to leave the city was issued only one day after the Ukrainian army fled uncontrollably from Avdiivka`.
Unarmed Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from positions south of the city on February 14.
Ukrainian soldiers contacted by phone by the New York Times described a difficult effort to withdraw from the city of Avdiivka.
Major Rodion Kudryashov, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd independent shock brigade, said: `In an area in the city of Avdiivka, fighters of the 3rd independent shock brigade were surrounded, but they
Some Ukrainian soldiers expressed concern that the withdrawal order was given too late.
Viktor Biliak, a soldier with the 110th Brigade, which has defended the city of Avdiivka for the past two years, described the hasty evacuation of a garrison called Zenit, in a southern area of the city.
Bliak said his unit did not have time to retreat in an orderly manner, nor did it have time to evacuate weapons and equipment, burn papers and lay mines to prevent the Russians from attacking.
Bliak said that 10 Ukrainian soldiers tried to withdraw on the evening of February 14 but were unsuccessful.
Bliak said he helped rescue one of the injured the next morning.
Ukrainian soldiers made another withdrawal attempt on the evening of February 15, and the seriously injured were told to wait for an armored vehicle to arrive to take them away.
`The groups left one by one,` Bliak said.
`There was no outside visibility. It was simply a moment of survival. One kilometer left in the field. A group of troops led by a drone. Enemy artillery still exploding. Road to Avdiivka
According to Bliak, evacuation vehicles could not pick up the injured.
`That commander did not know he was talking to a wounded person. The conversation over the radio hurt us to the core,` the Ukrainian soldier emphasized.
Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdiivka is still taking place under devastating Russian bombardment.
