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Russia celebrates a great propaganda success with the capture of the city of Avdiivka. The Ukrainian withdrawal was probably disorderly and tragic.
Avdiivka – Avdiivka, which has been mistreated for years, gave Vladimir Putin's army a not insignificant success story in the Ukrainian war. Russia captured the small Ukrainian town near Donetsk after fierce fighting that gave the city a reputation as one of the fighting's “meat grinders” — albeit at a high and bloody price. For the Ukrainian armed forces, the outcome of the battle means a fiasco. Apparently, many wounded soldiers were left behind in the hasty retreat.
Avdiivka retreat from Ukraine: Wounded soldiers apparently remained behind
According to CNN, the Ukrainian army had to withdraw from Avdiivka quickly and without taking casualties into account on Saturday (February 17), while its president Volodymyr Zelensky was at the Munich Security Conference. One soldier was literally ordered: “Leave the 300 wounded behind and burn everything.”
Chaotic withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka. (File photo) © SNA/Imago
Just hours after the Russian flag was raised over the embattled city, a rumor spread that wounded Ukrainian soldiers had been killed immediately after the arrival of the occupying army. It mainly affected members of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, who had defended a position called “Zenit” and were probably no longer able to escape the ruins. Apparently, they waited in vain for rescue for about a day and a half.
Zelenskyy declared at the security conference that Avdiivka's withdrawal was a “professional decision” for clear reasons: “Our soldiers are people,” he emphasized.
Avdiivka falls into Russia's hands: critical voices after chaotic withdrawal from Ukraine
In Ukraine, critical voices are growing following the apparently disorganized withdrawal and presumably heavy losses. One surviving soldier told the world in a video interview: “The withdrawal should have happened much sooner and when it finally came, nothing was prepared. No armored evacuation vehicles, no concrete plans. Many units were alone.”
This source also confirmed that of the estimated 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers, hundreds of people would not have been able to escape. The soldier mentioned here also reported that battalion headquarters ordered the wounded to be left behind and all remains to be burned.
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Ukrainian soldiers horrified: “Road to Avdiivka full of Ukrainian corpses.”
Even the soldiers who managed to escape had to face great hardships, CNN said. One survivor described his route out of the town as follows: “There was no visibility out there. It was all about survival. A kilometer away. A bunch of blind kittens controlled by a drone. Enemy artillery. The road to Avdiivka is full of Ukrainian corpses.”
This man further stated that during his escape he was informed by the Ukrainian military command that six injured people he knew would not be evacuated. “Their despair, their downfall. That will always remain with us. The bravest are those who die,” he said.
Emotional video calls just before the Russian invasion of Avdiivka
CNN also reported emotional scenes and recordings that allegedly show soldiers who contacted their families via video call shortly before the Russians arrived. The sister of a man who has been fighting for Ukraine in the region for two years asked her brother, in a sequence obtained by CNN, if no one would come and get him. He replied: “Everyone left, everyone withdrew. They told us a car would pick us up. I have two broken legs and splinters in my back. I can't do anything.” Other comrades are fine.
Many of the Ukrainians who were not evacuated now appear to have been killed. At least that's what a video published a few days ago by a Russian military blogger suggests: it shows several dead bodies in Avdiivka. Relatives or former comrades of Ukrainian soldiers could have clearly identified several missing people through features such as tattoos. The 110th Brigade, CNN reported, now wants to review the incidents and recordings.
Avdiivka was almost completely destroyed in the Ukrainian War
Avdiivka became a frontline town in 2014 when the war in Donbas began, and became a target again for Putin's army from February 24, 2022, when Russia launched the attack on its neighboring country. The city is now considered almost completely destroyed; As of October 2023, only about 1,000 of the original 32,500 residents still live in the city.
The capture of the city by the Russians, who, according to Ukrainian sources, lost around 50,000 soldiers in the fighting for Avdiivka, is considered Putin's biggest military victory since capturing the city of Bakhmut last year. Meanwhile, it became clear once again at the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine needs more and faster help from its Western allies. (chnnn)