“It was possible to save people”: a Ukrainian soldier stated that the order to withdraw from Vuhledar never came

The Ukrainian military has not received an official order to withdraw from Vuhledar, despite previous claims that permission for withdrawal had been granted.

This was stated by Mykola Voroshnov, an aerial reconnaissance officer from the 72nd Brigade. Although the “Khortytsia” Operational Command announced yesterday that the order for the withdrawal of units had been given, Voroshnov expressed a different view.

“Vuhledar was doomed, saving it was impossible. But it was possible to save the people. However, no order for withdrawal was given. Everyone in and around the city understood that the countdown had begun, first in days and then in hours, but no retreat order was issued,” Voroshnov wrote.

He believes that Russian advances will continue.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Armed Forces journalist Volodymyr Boiko reported that out of 50 recruits sent to reinforce Vuhledar’s defenses, only four made it to their positions, and even they deserted after the first rotation.

“Here’s the information about the last personnel reinforcement of the 72nd Brigade before Vuhledar was surrendered. The brigade received 50 recruits, most of whom were aged 52-56. Thirty of them were immediately sent to rear units and hospitals because they were unfit for frontline service due to health reasons (as the military recruitment offices fulfilled quotas by mobilizing the ill). Of the remaining 20, 16 deserted on the second day. Thus, of the 50 reinforcements, only four made it to the positions, and they also deserted after the first rotation,” Boiko wrote.

He described the loss of the city as a “localized collapse of the front” and noted that similar issues with reinforcement were occurring along the entire front line.

“It’s only going to get worse. There was still a chance to fix the situation by March 2024, but now the collapse of the army has reached such a scale that no measures will help—there are simply no soldiers left at the front. There are none, and there will be none. Soldiers, who have been forced into service, have no desire to die for a corrupt regime, and the enforcement mechanisms—such as military justice—were dismantled by the ‘Kvartal 95’ administration back in 2019,” Boiko wrote.

Earlier, soldiers of the 72nd Brigade spoke about a chaotic retreat from Vuhledar. They also reported that their units left the city without waiting for an official withdrawal order.

It should be noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have officially confirmed the loss of Vuhledar. It was stated that after Russian strikes on the flanks, which “exhausted the defense” of the Ukrainian forces, there was a threat of the city being encircled.