Avdiivka falls, Ukrainian soldiers fight their way out of besieged fortress

Avdiivka thất thủ, lính Ukraine mở đường máu rút khỏi pháo đài bị bao vây - 1 — Ukrainian soldiers of the 71st Jaeger Brigade in the Avdiivka area (Photo: New York Times).

The new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Aleksandr Syrsky, announced the withdrawal of troops from the city of Avdiivka in the early morning of February 17. He said the withdrawal was necessary to "stabilize the situation and maintain the positions" of the Ukrainian army.

News of Ukrainian forces withdrawing from Avdiivka, a region devastated by months of fierce fighting, began circulating earlier this week, while other reports said Russian forces had cut off the city’s biggest supply lines.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian fortress, confirming scattered Ukrainian troops were trying to escape the city, fleeing in disarray under Russian fire and abandoning weapons.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that "the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Syrsky to leave the city was issued only after a day of uncontrolled Ukrainian troops fleeing Avdiivka." The Ukrainian army is said to have lost more than 1,500 troops in Avdiivka in just 24 hours.

Unarmed Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from positions south of the city on February 14. Since then, they have been fighting a desperate battle to avoid being encircled from within the city as Russian forces advance from multiple directions.

Ukrainian soldiers contacted by phone by the New York Times described the difficult effort to withdraw from the town of Avdiivka, moving quickly through buildings under attack as shelling rang out from all sides and Russian troops pressed in from multiple directions.

"In one area of the city of Avdiivka, fighters of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade were surrounded, but they tried to break through and succeeded," said Major Rodion Kudryashov, deputy commander of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

Some Ukrainian soldiers expressed concern that the order to withdraw came too late, and posted on social media about the dangerous and chaotic withdrawal.

Viktor Biliak, a soldier from the 110th Brigade, which has defended the city of Avdiivka for the past two years, described the hasty evacuation of the garrison called Zenit, in a southern area of the city.

Bliak said his unit did not have time to withdraw in an orderly manner, nor did it have time to evacuate weapons and equipment, burn papers, and lay mines to prevent the Russians from attacking.

Bliak said that 10 Ukrainian soldiers tried to retreat on the evening of February 14 but failed. They tried to move forward in a gun battle, but were then attacked by Russian artillery.

Bliak said he helped rescue one of the wounded the next morning. A dangerous daytime move left the unit with four more wounded, including Bliak.

Ukrainian soldiers made another attempt to withdraw on the evening of February 15 and the seriously wounded were told to wait for an armored vehicle to arrive to take them away.

“The groups left one by one,” Bliak said. Since he was still able to walk, he decided not to wait for the evacuation vehicles and instead led a group out.

"There was no visibility outside. It was simply a matter of life and death. There was a kilometer left in the field. A group of soldiers was being led by a drone. Enemy artillery was still firing. The road to Avdiivka was littered with our bodies," the Ukrainian soldier recounted.

According to Bliak, the evacuation vehicles were unable to pick up the wounded. The last group left the bunker, and he overheard a wounded soldier asking over the radio for evacuation vehicles. The commander replied that no vehicles were coming and that they should leave the wounded behind.

"The commander did not know he was talking to a wounded man. The conversation over the radio hurt us to the core," the Ukrainian soldier emphasized.

The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka is still underway under heavy Russian bombardment. The Ukrainian military command said the withdrawal from the southern part of the city had been carried out with “minor losses”.

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