Ukrainian Forces may withdraw from Vuhledar as Russian encirclement looms
War correspondent Bohdan Myroshnikov has claimed that Russian forces are on the verge of encircling the city of Vuhledar, which could compel Ukrainian Defense Forces to vacate their positions. The Ukrainian General Staff did not address these claims in their morning report regarding Russian advances on the outskirts of Vuhledar.
Myroshnikov, writing on his Telegram channel, emphasized that capturing Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast would enable Russian troops to establish supply lines to occupied Crimea. "Once we lose Vuhledar, the enemy can establish a steady railroad supply through Volnovakha to the entire occupied south and Crimea. Sure, there might be occasional strikes there, but using artillery and MLRS effectively will no longer be possible," he explained.
He further highlighted that the situation in Vuhledar is increasingly dire and has reached a critical point. "I wouldn’t anticipate urban combat—the Russians will simply encircle it, and under such a threat, our garrison will have no choice but to withdraw. We have limited time before this happens—just 4 kilometers from one flank and 5 kilometers from the other. Specifically, this is the distance to Bohoyavlenka," Myroshnikov added.
DeepState also reports that the situation around Vuhledar is dire and worsening by the day. Russian forces are making attempts to encircle the city while bombarding it with artillery and guided bombs.
The post includes a video showing the bombings of Vuhledar, with the explosions from Russian attacks clearly visible.
As political discussions over restrictions and permissions continue, Russian forces are obliterating entire towns and villages with air bombardments, using aircraft that should have been neutralized but weren't. Holding out to the end means valuing ruins over the lives of our soldiers, which is unacceptable. The consequences we face today should have been considered earlier; now, it's too late. However, soldiers of the 72nd Brigade refuse to give up and continue to carry out their duties despite everything.
The situation in the Vuhledar direction started to deteriorate last week after the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade retreated from Prechystivka to "better positions." This allowed Russian forces to attack the front from three directions, posing a risk of operational encirclement for the entire Vuhledar grouping of the Defense Forces.
On September 23, Forbes reported that Russian forces could cut off the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which has been defending Vuhledar in the Donetsk region for 20 months. Currently, the roads and fields around Vuhledar are heavily mined, and all Russian attempts to attack Ukrainian positions using BMPs, motorcycles, or golf carts have failed. However, the roads near the village of Vodyane in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region are less treacherous, which is where Russian forces are advancing under the cover of combat aircraft dropping powerful glide bombs.
On September 24, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that the Russian troops had made eight attempts to capture positions near Pavlivka and Vuhledar in the Vremivka region.
Earlier reports on September 24 indicated that Russian troops had entered the outskirts of Vuhledar and were trying to consolidate their positions in small groups.