The Ukrainian army indicated this Wednesday, October 2, that it was withdrawing from the town of Vougledar in the east of the country, ceding this strategic locality to the Russians after two and a half years of deadly fighting. “The High Command has given its authorization to the Vougledar retreat maneuver to allow the saving of men and military equipment, and the taking of new positions for the continuation of the operations,” the Khortytsia force grouping indicated on Telegram, in charge of operations in the area.
The fall of this city puts an end to the stability of this sector of the front for two years and raises the question of the solidity of Ukrainian positions in this area, located at the junction of the eastern (Lugansk and Donetsk regions) and southern ( Zaporizhia and Kherson regions). The city also has symbolic value for both sides due to the duration of the battle and the number of losses recorded there. Its fall adds to the difficulties of the Ukrainians in the eastern part of their country, with Russian troops getting closer in particular to Pokrovsk, a key city for Ukrainian logistics.
This announcement confirms those of various specialized websites which analyze open sources concerning the Ukrainian conflict. And several Ukrainian officials had suggested in recent weeks that the capture of this city was imminent. On Tuesday, images of soldiers waving the Russian flag on the roof of the municipal administration began circulating online.
On the Russian side, an advisor to the leader of the occupying forces of the Donetsk region, Ian Gaguine, confirmed on Wednesday that Russian troops were in Vougledar, while exercising caution. “Our soldiers are in Vougledar, a Russian flag has been planted on the local administration building. However, it is premature to talk about taking the town,” he told the Vougledar news agency. Russian State RIA Novosti. “There are still scattered units of the Ukrainian army. A clean-up operation is underway and will take some time,” he added.
Bloody fights
Russia had been trying to take Vougledar since the first weeks of its invasion launched in February 2022. Particularly bloody fighting for Russian forces took place there in early 2023, with men launching into infantry and tank assaults having been decimated by the Ukrainians.
The city, largely destroyed, was relentlessly bombarded by the Russian army. A small number of civilians have refused to leave, but neither kyiv nor Moscow can say how many. In September, several Ukrainian officials indicated that holding Vougledar was becoming increasingly difficult, with the Russian army relentlessly pounding the area with very powerful guided aerial bombs. Ukrainian forces have been on the defensive for more than a year against a better-equipped and larger Russian army which is gaining ground in the east, despite heavy losses. In particular, they are barely ten kilometers from Pokrovsk.
The Russian army has not yet made any comments on the capture of Vougledar but assured in its daily press release that it was improving its positions in Donbass and having captured a town called Verkhnokamianské.