Ukraine’s military will pull out of Vuhledar in the east after 2 years of intense fighting
Ukraine’s military will pull out of Vuhledar in the east after 2 years of intense fighting
FILE - An aerial view of Vuhledar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian marine serviceman runs to take a position through the residential blocks in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A residential building which was destroyed by Russian forces is seen through the broken window, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman of 68 Oleksa Dovbush hunting brigade drives by M113 armoured vehicle towards frontline positions near Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A destroyed car is seen in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - This image provided by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and taken in February 2023 shows damaged Russian tanks in a field after an attack on Vuhledar, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Armed Forces via AP, File)
FILE - A part of a rocket sticks from a ground in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
FILE - An aerial view of Vuhledar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)
FILE - An aerial view of Vuhledar, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian marine serviceman runs to take a position through the residential blocks in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian marine serviceman runs to take a position through the residential blocks in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A residential building which was destroyed by Russian forces is seen through the broken window, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A residential building which was destroyed by Russian forces is seen through the broken window, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman of 68 Oleksa Dovbush hunting brigade drives by M113 armoured vehicle towards frontline positions near Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian serviceman of 68 Oleksa Dovbush hunting brigade drives by M113 armoured vehicle towards frontline positions near Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A destroyed car is seen in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - A destroyed car is seen in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
FILE - This image provided by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and taken in February 2023 shows damaged Russian tanks in a field after an attack on Vuhledar, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Armed Forces via AP, File)
FILE - This image provided by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and taken in February 2023 shows damaged Russian tanks in a field after an attack on Vuhledar, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Armed Forces via AP, File)
FILE - A part of a rocket sticks from a ground in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
FILE - A part of a rocket sticks from a ground in front of a residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine, after more than two years of grinding battle, military officials said Wednesday.
Vuhledar, a town Ukrainian forces fought tooth and nail to keep, is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians as the war stretches deep into its third year and the Ukrainian army is gradually being pushed backward in the eastern Donetsk province.
It follows a vicious summer campaign along the eastern front that saw Kyiv cede several thousand square kilometers (square miles) of territory as the Russian army hacks its way westward, obliterating towns and villages with missiles, glide bombs, artillery and drones.
Ukraine’s Khortytsia ground forces formation, which commands eastern regions including Donetsk, said in a statement posted on Telegram it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to “protect military personnel and equipment.”
“In an attempt to take control of the city at any cost, (Russian) reserves were directed to carry out flanking attacks, which exhausted the defense of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the enemy’s actions, there arose a threat of encircling the city,” the statement said.
The tactical significance of the town, situated at the confluence of two major roads, is two-fold. Dominant heights and proximity to railway lines offer Moscow greater protection for their own logistics routes, and a better vantage point for attacks against Ukrainian forces and supply lines feeding the south.
Its capture is another notch in Moscow’s belt, bringing it closer to the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
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