Ukrainian soldiers disobey orders and retreat

Ukrainian soldiers disobey orders and retreat; Ukrainian President calls on Russia to withdraw troops... are notable news that will be included in the Russia-Ukraine war bulletin on the morning of February 17.

Russia launches a strong attack in Kursk, blocking Ukraine's reinforcements

Recently, some Ukrainian army units tried to break through the Russian encirclement from Makhnovka to reinforce Cherkasskaya Konopelka, but were stopped by Russian drones.

Later, a Ukrainian special forces unit continued to try to penetrate the Olekh forest to enter Cherkasskaya Konopelka, but failed. Since the Olekh forest is close to Makhnovka, the Ukrainian troops could sneak into the forest relatively easily, but advancing deeper and breaking through was very difficult.

Russia fires at Ukrainian stronghold. Source: Russian Defense Ministry

At the same time, according to the Telegram channel Paratroopers' Diary, the Ukrainian military feared that after the defeat at Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Russia would launch a multi-pronged attack on the Sudzha region. Therefore, Ukraine launched an attack on the Kurilovka region, dispatching special forces to launch five attacks within a day.

However, all these attacks were repelled by the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade, leaving more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers dead and more than 20 others seriously wounded. After that, the Russian army launched a counterattack, trying to expand the control position in Kurilovka, which is still being fought with the Ukrainian army.

In the northwest of Sudzha, the Russian army launched a powerful offensive along a 17 km wide front, from Nikolaevka to Sverdlikovo, then south to Alexandrovka, continuing to the Nikolski farm and finally to Viktorovka.

While attacking the Nikolski farm, Russian drones discovered that the Ukrainian 47th Brigade had used the nearby Miratog camp as a temporary base. Russia then launched a barrage of rockets that completely destroyed the area, killing up to 65 soldiers.

At Svyerdlikovo, Russian troops have completely crossed the Loknya River in the center of the village and advanced deep into the eastern bank, controlling about 80% of the village. However, the village’s proximity to the border gives Ukrainian troops a chance to counterattack. Currently, there are more than 500 Ukrainian soldiers fighting near the area. They had previously tried to cross the Loknya River to counterattack, but were caught in heavy Russian fire.

From the Yunakovka area to the Sudzha road, Russian drones carried out a large-scale attack, burning a series of military vehicles, blocking the Ukrainian supply route. In the video, you can see that many Ukrainian logistics vehicles were destroyed. This is very bad news for the Ukrainian army, who intend to hold out in Kursk for a long time.

Ukrainian soldiers disobey orders and retreat from Kurakhove

A source in the Ukrainian military told The Times that the country's armed forces were "in shock". Scepticism was also present within the Ukrainian defence ministry.

Notably, according to the Ural News agency (Russia), just 1 day after the phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin, the elite 501st Marine Battalion of the Ukrainian Navy simultaneously withdrew from combat positions in the town of Sudzha (Kursk province) of Russia with losses of up to 50% of combat troops.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Russian army is making significant advances in Kursk. Continuous Russian troop movements are recorded near the Nikolayevo-Daryino area, and in the direction from Alexandria to the Nikolskoye and Viktorovka areas.

Russian artillery increases attacks on Ukrainian strongholds. Source: Russian Ministry of Defense

Meanwhile, Strana.ua (Ukraine) quoted a Ukrainian soldier nicknamed Muchnoy as saying that the Ukrainian garrison in the city of Kurakhove (Pokrovsk district, Donetsk province) had withdrawn.

This force received orders from superiors to maintain defense, however, because the Russian army was conducting a surprise attack from the north and south, a "fire pocket" was formed to surround the Ukrainian army here, causing them to suffer heavy losses.

The visual control unit of the Ukrainian armed forces confirmed that some units are retreating west of Kurakhove without permission. However, another “fire pocket” of Russian troops is also forming here. Therefore, if the Ukrainian forces do not withdraw completely, a large group of them will likely be surrounded.

Ukrainian President calls on Russia to withdraw troops

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian army had lost nearly 250,000 soldiers during its military campaign in Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky claimed that Moscow had lost nearly 20,000 soldiers in battles in Russia’s Kursk province. Ukraine launched a large-scale offensive in Kursk last August.

Initially, Ukraine controlled about 1,300 square kilometers in Russia's Kursk region, but Kiev's forces have since lost about half of that. However, Ukraine recently claimed to have advanced 2.5 kilometers in Kursk in a new offensive.

According to the Ukrainian leader, a total of more than 610,000 Russian soldiers have been wounded since February 24, 2022, when Moscow began launching the war in Ukraine.

President Zelensky's estimate of Russian losses coincides with statistics released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, Russia has lost 856,660 troops in Ukraine since 2022.

In an interview with Newsmax published on February 15, President Zelensky declared that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory to the positions it controlled before the military operation taking place in February 2022.

President Zelensky said Ukraine will not accept the results of any negotiations without Kiev's participation.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/chien-su-nga-ukraine-sang-172-linh-ukraine-phan-lenh-rut-lui-374105.html