After months of opposition, Russia has taken control of the strategically important town of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine, highlighting the magnitude of Kyiv’s struggle as it prepares for its third winter of conflict.
In footage confirmed by CNN, soldiers could be seen flying the Russian flag above the wreckage of the town’s destroyed city hall. The town’s population has decreased from about 14,000 to little over 100 people.
The Ukrainian military announced on Wednesday that it had left Vuhledar and that there was a “threat of encirclement” because Russia had been able to move forces to the flanks. It stated that the withdrawal was decided “to save personnel and military equipment.”
President Vladimir Putin of Russia has made annexing the whole eastern Donbas territory one of his top priorities. Russia has been gaining ground in the east this year, and Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has returned from a meeting with US President Joe Biden without having his main objectives fulfilled.
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The town of Vuhledar, which derives its name from the Ukrainian term for coal, is situated about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Pokrovsk, which has been perceived in recent months as Russia’s primary eastern assault hub.
Vuhledar was well defended and considered a vital stronghold at the meeting point of Ukraine’s eastern and southern fronts, despite not being as developed as Pokrovsk in terms of transportation and supplies. This rendered the victory “operational, if not operational-strategic,” according to well-known Russian combat blogger Boris Rozhin.
He made reference to the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which has been under Russian control since 2022, saying, “The fact is that this ‘balcony’ [an apparent reference to Vuhledar’s elevated position] was located at the junction of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk fronts posed a constant threat to the grouping that covered the approaches to Mariupol.”
Similar to Avdiivka, a strategically important town in the east that fell in February, Vuhledar is the victim of attrition rather than Russian strategy.
There, Ukraine had up a strong defense for two years while Russia made many unsuccessful attempts to capture the town.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers were outraged in February 2023 by an attempted Russian attack on Vuhledar, as hundreds of Russian troops moved directly into the path of Ukrainian artillery fired from the town’s tall apartment buildings.
Voenkor Kotenok, a different Russian blogger, made reference to this bittersweet win on Tuesday.
“Vuhledar, or rather those who settled there, drank a lot of blood, it’s painful,” he said.
It is now Ukraine’s turn to answer the tough questions.
Another setback for Ukraine, Even four months after Ukraine’s mobilization legislation went into effect, Russia still has a manpower edge, as seen by its ability to deploy enough reserves to encircle the town.
Ukrainian soldier and blogger Stanislav Buniatov stated on Telegram, “I confidently said that one would have to be a moron to allow our guys to be surrounded, but someone did.” According to him, Russian drones fired on the wounded troops as they withdrew from Vuhledar in tiny groups, leaving them “to be shot by the enemy.”
In Kiev, the timing of this tragedy will likewise be deeply felt.
It happens less than two months after Russia gradually advanced eastward and opened a new front in the northern Kharkiv region, prompting Ukraine to expand the battlefield to Russia’s Kursk region in an effort to relieve pressure on other fronts and help turn the tide against the Russians.
Zelensky has also only been back for a few days from a contentious diplomatic tour of the US, during which he promised further assistance but received neither authorization to fire Western weapons in Russia nor security assurances like to those of NATO.
Zelensky stated that “we are closer to peace than we think” on the US network ABC just one week ago. Due to the fall of Vuhledar, Ukraine must now battle to prevent Russia from moving further west, increasing the possibility of regaining territory even more remote.
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have also not abated, as the International Energy Agency has warned that “this winter will be, by far, its sternest test yet.”
