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reuters and the associated press reported on october 2 that the russian army had completely taken control of vuhledar (ugledar in russia) in the donetsk region that day, and the ukrainian military confirmed that it had ordered its troops to evacuate. it is reported that vukhledar is one of the pillars of the ukrainian army's defense. controlling the place will help the russian army block the ukrainian army's logistics channels and open up a westward path.

according to reports, the russian ministry of defense did not mention the progress in vukhledar in its daily battle report, but multiple russian military blogs including the telegram channel "shot" announced on the 1st that the russian military had inserted themselves into this strategic town. flag video.

yan gakin, adviser to the donetsk armed leader, told ria novosti on the 2nd: "in fact, our troops have entered ugledal, and the russian flag is planted on the local government building." but he said that now we are talking about occupying the city. "it's still too early", "sporadic units of the ukrainian army are still there, and the clean-up work is in progress and will take some time."

ria novosti reported that the title picture is a screenshot of russian soldiers meeting with flags at the occupied government building.

the hortyca group army in eastern ukraine announced in a statement on the 2nd that the ukrainian army's highest command approved its withdrawal from vukhledar in order to "save personnel and military equipment" and prepare for further operations. soldiers of the ukrainian 72nd mechanized brigade, who have been fighting in vukhledar since august 2022, also confirmed to the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) that they have withdrawn from here.

according to the bbc, since february 2022, the russian army has launched multiple attacks on vukhledar, but they have always ended in failure. according to reuters, the russian army has launched at least four large-scale attacks on vukhledar, but they were all met with fierce resistance by the ukrainian 72nd mechanized brigade.

however, in recent months, the russian army has no longer launched a frontal attack, but switched to a "pincer offensive" along the flanks, which has achieved certain results. in order to complete the siege of vukhledar, the russian army captured nearby ukrainsk last month and advanced from prechystivka on the west side of vukhledar and prechystivka on the northeast side. vodiane launches bombing campaign.

the bbc stated that the russian army was able to break through the ukrainian defense line thanks to its "huge advantages" in weapons and troops. according to individual soldier estimates, the strength ratio of the two sides was 7:1. during the siege, ukraine's defense lines were suppressed by russian aerial bombs, thermobaric bombs, drones and multiple rocket launchers for a long time. according to reports, this is also the tactic that the russian army is best at.

as of september 30, bbc map of the situation in wuhan

arsenii prylipka, director of the press office of the 72nd mechanized brigade of ukraine, said that the russian army managed to exhaust the resources of the ukrainian army through "constant air strikes" for six or seven months. a soldier of the ukrainian 72nd mechanized brigade said that in the face of such an attack, retreat from certain positions became inevitable, and ukrainian soldiers "either died in battle or retreated."

members of the udi 72nd mechanized brigade, including the aforementioned soldiers, also reported that many people were angry that the commander did not order a retreat early. they believe that events in the past period have shown that the ukrainian army is obviously unable to hold on for a long time. due to the suppressive firepower of the russian army during the day and the russian army's close surveillance of the main highways, some soldiers were forced to flee on foot through the paths at night.

the "moscow times" commented that this capture will mark a "major success" achieved by the russian army after months of difficult advancement in eastern ukraine. currently, the russian army is continuing to approach pokrovsk (red army city in russia), the logistics center of ukraine, and the control of vukhledar is an important step for the russian army to further advance towards pokrovsk.

vukhledar has a high terrain and dense high-rise buildings, making it difficult to attack and defend. it is also close to a railway connecting crimea and donbas. occupying this place will facilitate russia's advance deep behind the ukrainian army's defense lines. some russian military bloggers believe that the russian army can now try to advance to velyka novosilka, which is more than 30 kilometers to the west.

the associated press predicts that the next step for the russian army will be to force the ukrainian army to withdraw from nearby kurakhove. ivan tymochko, chairman of the ukrainian army reserve committee, said that this is the only way for the russian army to enter pokrovsk, otherwise its flank will be exposed.

ukrainian media previously pointed out that once russia captures pokrovsk, it will cut off the ukrainian army's supply line, which may lead to the collapse of the entire ukrainian army's defense line. the russian army can advance from pokrovsk and advance into other cities such as kramatorsk, the seat of the ukrainian interim state government, which will help achieve the strategic goal of completely controlling the donbas region as soon as possible.