72nd Brigade Commander comments withdrawal from Vuhledar and difficulties of evacuating wounded
Colonel Oleksandr Okhrimenko, Commander of the 72nd Separate Mechanised Brigade, has revealed details of the withdrawal from Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast, and the difficulties associated with evacuating the wounded soldiers.
Source: Okhrimenko in an interview with Glavcom
Details: Commenting on the brigade's withdrawal from the town of Vuhledar, Okhrimenko said that the situation in the city was very tense, especially on the flanks, as it did not allow them to hold Vuhledar any longer.
Okhrimenko noted that it was a tactical encirclement, and it became extremely difficult to evacuate and resupply. The reserves that could have been used earlier were already under Russian fire as of 27-28 September.
Quote: "We couldn’t hold Vuhledar with the assets and personnel at our disposal back then. On the other hand, the situation in the south of Donbas had changed so much by the end of September that holding Vuhledar was losing its importance."
Details: Okhrimenko noted that during such active combat actions, it is impossible to say with complete certainty that 100% of the wounded soldiers were evacuated.
Quote: "The evacuation was carried out. But, unfortunately, we could not take a certain number of people. Under enemy fire, the evacuation groups that were leaving sometimes could not even reach the evacuation point where they would be picked up. During the manoeuvrable defence and withdrawal from the battle, we really could not evacuate everyone."
Details: Okhrimenko refused to give figures, but noted that the number reported by Russian military commanders is exaggerated many times over.
Background:
- On 1 October, the Deepstate project reported that the Russians had occupied the town of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast.
- On 2 October, the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group reported that Ukrainian units had withdrawn from Vuhledar to save personnel and military equipment and to take up positions for further fighting.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the withdrawal of the Ukrainian forces from Vuhledar the right thing to do. "We cannot stop the Russian Federation without appropriate weapons. When they are destroying the positions of our soldiers, we must protect their lives, because they are more important than any buildings," the President said.
- According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the occupation of Vuhledar is unlikely to dramatically change the course of offensive operations in western Donetsk Oblast, as the city is not a particularly important logistical hub.
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