‘Fortress’ Ugledar Is Completely Encircled, About To Fall at Any Moment – Commander of 72nd Brigade Withdrawn From the City, Ukrainian Forces Retreating Under Fire
October begins with Russian Federation forces on the cusp of a major military victory in Ukraine, as the ‘Fortress’ city of Ugledar (Vuhledar in Ukrainian) is under attack from three sides, and expected to be conquered at any moment.
Western press now reports that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers are trapped in the besieged town as Russian forces complete the ‘boiler’ and close in.
Ukrainian soldiers describe how evacuation routes have been cut, and food, ammunition, and fuel are running low.
Watch: heavy bombardment of Ukrainian positions in Ugledar.
Telegraph reported:
“’The situation in [Ugledar] is, to put it mildly, difficult’, the unnamed Ukrainian soldier told Stanislav Bunyatov, a Ukrainian soldier and blogger. ‘The attack is now coming from three sides’.
The soldier said that it was too dangerous for Ukrainian armored personnel carriers to drive towards friendly lines because of Russian artillery and drone attacks.”
Individual units were instead trying to ‘quietly slip out’ of the Russian encirclement at night in what he calls ‘fighting retreat formations’.
“’On average, if ten people leave the city in groups, four to six make it out’, he said.”
Consider what he just said: on average, half the remaining defenders are killed during the retreat.
The situation in the city has been so bad that Ukrainian military chiefs withdrew the commander of Ukraine’s 72nd Brigade, which has been defending [Ugledar].
Colonel Ivan Vinnik was highly regarded and tipped for a promotion. While some commentators say it was withdrawn to be “saved” before the town was lost, others suggest he will be scapegoated for the defeat.
“[Ugledar], towards the southern edge of the front line that runs through Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, has been described as a Ukrainian “fortress” because it has never been captured.”
Surprisingly, the Telegraph is also quoting Russian military bloggers, who confirm that Russians have surrounded the city and predict that Ugledar will fall.
“’The commander of the 72nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, responsible for the defense of the city, has been removed from office. Our troops are methodically destroying enemy firing points in the city’, said the Two Majors Telegram channel, which has almost 1.2 million subscribers.”
Watch: Russian benners unfurled in Ugledar.
Ukrainian and ‘neutral’ information sources have also said that Ugledar, a key city positioned on high ground overlooking an important east-west road, is about to fall.
“DeepState, a pro-Ukraine Telegram channel, confirmed that Russia has sent ‘regular forces and special forces’ as reinforcements to the area and OSINT Aggregator said Ukraine ‘may have tried to hold [Ugledar] longer than operationally feasible’.”
This admission by ‘Deepstate’ channel shows how Ukrainian command makes the same mistake every time: holds a ‘bastion city’ longer than it actually can, so at the end there’s no time for its troops to retreat.
WATCH: Ukrainian troops surrender in Ugledar.
In addition to the 72nd brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, the 58th brigade, as well as a number of foreign mercenaries and the special operation forces are also stuck in Ugledar.
Russian channel Condotierro reported:
“Things are really bad there. Water and food are running out. There are not enough medicines. They’ve already been offered to surrender several times. The main stronghold is the four high-rises in the center and the basements under them.
The Russian Armed Forces continue to sweep the city.“
Another Russian channel, Slavyangrad, reports on the ‘day after’:
“In addition, the Russian Armed Forces began fighting in the direction of the villages of Novoukrainka and Bogoyavlenka, where the enemy forces retreated from Ugledar.
The AFU is preparing the defense along the line Dalnee-Konstatinopolskoye-Maksimovka.”
Ugledar had a pre-war population of about 14,000 people. When it falls, it will be Russia’s most significant battlefield conquest since Avdiivka back in February.
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