After the retreat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Avdiivka, up to a thousand Ukrainian soldiers could have fallen into Russian captivity – NYT

When the Ukrainian army retreated from Avdiivka, up to a thousand Ukrainian soldiers could have fallen into captivity to Russian forces.

The New York Times reports this, citing estimates from Ukrainian military sources themselves and high-ranking Western officials.

Estimates of the number of Ukrainian soldiers captured or missing vary. Two soldiers interviewed by journalists gave figures ranging from 850 to a thousand individuals. Western officials, the newspaper writes, find this estimate accurate.

According to NYT’s sources, the loss of Avdiivka itself was not a major strategic defeat. However, Western officials believe that the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces was poorly planned and started too late. The situation, as the publication writes, was exacerbated by Russian forces surrounding the city from almost three sides.

Furthermore, as Ukrainian servicemen told the publication, there were communication problems during the retreat, causing soldiers to fall into captivity or remain wounded and killed on the battlefield.

The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ “Tavriya” group, Dmitry Likhovoy, denies the capture of hundreds of servicemen. He called it disinformation but admitted that “a certain number” of soldiers went missing.

It is known that during the final stage of the military’s exit from Avdiivka under pressure from superior enemy forces, some Ukrainian servicemen were captured. This was reported by the commander of the OSUV “Tavriya” General Tarnavsky.

Earlier, ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets appealed to the UN and the Red Cross regarding wounded Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner at the Zenit stronghold south of Avdiivka, whom, as announced yesterday by the 110th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, were later executed by the Russians.