Butusov stated that soldiers in Avdiivka fell into captivity because they did not receive orders on time. The 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade responded

Military personnel at “Zenith” to the south of Avdiivka fell into captivity because they did not receive the order to retreat on time.

This was stated by the editor-in-chief of the “Censor.net” website, Yuriy Butusov.

According to him, the command was confident that reserves would be introduced to “break through the corridor.”

“Unfortunately, all this was not planned in such a way as to break through the corridor. The garrison of ‘Zenith’ did not receive the order to retreat in time. And this is the main reason for this tragedy. And not only this one, unfortunately,” Butusov said.

Subsequently, these military personnel were presumably shot by the Russian army when it entered their positions. Analyzing the reasons for the fall of the city as a whole, Butusov mentioned that the Russian army managed to make the first powerful breakthrough in the south, “crushing with significant losses” the ranks of the 53rd brigade in the area of Tsarska Okhota.

“From the south, the enemy also crushed the defense of the 53rd brigade there and deeply enveloped the city from the south. That is, it practically already occupied the area of Tsarska Okhota, even went beyond the 9th quarter. And practically, the 110th brigade could no longer maneuver its forces, the enemy attacked it from all flanks. And the critical moment came,” Butusov said.

In his opinion, then the command should have been reinforcing the troops in the city, building new lines of defense.

After that, the 53rd brigade accused Butusov of spreading disinformation regarding “the brigade’s withdrawal from positions in Avdiivka”, comparing his words to the Russian IPSO.

The brigade says that it held positions in the 9th quarter until the last day and adjacent units retreated through them.

“During the enemy’s massive offensive on Avdiivka, the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade did not lose a single position in the south. The information that was presented to millions of viewers completely discredits the heroic deeds of our brigade. Part of the city, the area of the 9th quarter, remained under the control of the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade until the last day, and it was through it that adjacent units retreated. The withdrawal from the ‘Zenith’ position was also covered by the 53rd brigade, whose fighters remained at their positions until the order,” the military statement said.

Recall, on February 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, announced the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka – in order to save the lives of soldiers.