By The Moscow Times | Created at 2024-10-02 10:30:42 | Updated at 2024-10-02 12:27:20
2 hours ago
Vuhledar, Ukraine.
National Police of Ukraine
Russian troops took control of Kyiv’s stronghold of Vuhledar in the eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, according to analysts from the Ukrainian crowd-sourced tracking site DeepState.
Soldiers from Ukraine's 72nd Mechanized Brigade, which has been defending Vuhledar, also confirmed their withdrawal from the city to the BBC on Wednesday, noting that they were forced to escape by foot and likely sustained major personnel losses.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv have officially confirmed this information.
The capture of Vuhledar, which has been known as a “fortress city” due to its well-fortified surroundings and an upland position beneficial for the Ukrainian army, would mark a major success for Moscow.
Russian troops have made multiple attempts to capture the strategic former coal-mining city throughout its two-and-a-half-year invasion — an effort that has cost Moscow thousands of troops, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, according to an earlier report by the Financial Times.
Ukrainian military analyst Ivan Stupak described Vuhledar as the gateway to the southern areas of the Donbas region in a conversation with The Moscow Times earlier this month, noting that its capture would clear the way for further Russian advances in the region.
Moscow’s wide-reaching offensive in eastern Ukraine rapidly accelerated in August and September despite Ukraine’s surprise incursion into western Russia’s Kursk region.
Russian troops have also been edging closer to taking control of Kyiv’s key logistics hub of Pokrovsk located some 50 kilometers north of Vuhledar in recent weeks.
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