INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
After almost two years of fighting, Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from Vuhledar, a key defensive outpost in the frontline Donetsk region
The military command said the decision was taken to preserve the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and their precious equipment.The town, which
The Washington-based think tank The Institute for the Study of War wrote that many of the roads running into Vuhledar were already under
Russian control by the time the city fell
Russian forces would still need to advance through 30 kilometers of Ukrainian-held territory to support the offensive against Pokrovsk.The
regional government says 107 of the original 14,000 residents remain living in the shell of the city, for which both sides say their
opponents paid a heavy price in lives and equipment.Ukrainian military evacuates civilians from Vuhledar in February 2024.National Police of
the first half of 2024 than in the entirety of 2023
Meanwhile, Kyiv struggled with dwindling equipment and manpower across the entire front line, allowing Russia to encircle the town in
Some Ukrainian soldiers estimated Russia outnumbered them by seven to one at Vuhledar.It was not only the number of new recruits that caused
problems but also their lack of motivation and training
Commanders complained to the Financial Times in September that new recruits would run away from explosions or freeze in the face of gunfire
They estimated that between 50 and 70% of new infantry troops were killed within their first few days fighting.Russia, meanwhile, adapted to
its own shortages of manpower and equipment
They improved their battlefield communication and switched to attacking in smaller groups, supported by drones, making them harder to detect
Ukrainian forces complained that Western aid was not coming quickly enough or in sufficient numbers to make up for their shortfall against
Russia.Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko told The Moscow Times that Russia used glide bombs to target key defensive positions
These bombs are inexpensive and plentiful, as they are made by upgrading Soviet-era bombs with a guidance system and wings that allow them
Vance has opposed sending more aid to Kyiv
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held meetings with former President Donald Trump to try to shore up support for his
body in the second 12 months of the war was nearly 25% higher than in the first year, according to an analysis by the BBC and Mediazona.But
this tactic evolved as the war drew on
a single large assault, Russia exhausts them and their ammunition supplies by forcing them to defend against successive waves of small-group
vehicles were destroyed in February 2023
Since then, Russia has turned to using tanks in raids or to supplement its artillery, knocking out Ukrainian positions from as far as 2
kilometers away.The length and high cost of the campaign for Vuhledar had political ramifications in Russia
Although autumnal weather might render the surrounding terrain increasingly difficult to traverse as it turns to mud, Kovalenko said Russia
facing unprecedented challenges
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