foreign media: the russian army’s capture of the important town of wudong is “of great symbolic significance”
2024-10-04
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reference news network reported on october 4 according to a report by agence france-presse on october 2, the ukrainian army said on the 2nd that they had withdrawn their troops from the eastern town of vukhledar, which is one of the most significant developments made by russia in weeks.
according to reports, as russian troops continue to advance before the onset of winter, the fall of this coal mining town has raised new questions about the ukrainian army’s southeastern frontline defense positions.
the report pointed out that before the outbreak of the russian-ukrainian conflict, about 14,000 people lived in vukhledar. this capture was one of the major successes achieved by the russian army in eastern ukraine.
the ukrainian hordica group army operating in the area posted on the "telegram" software: "the supreme command approved the withdrawal of troops from vukhledar in order to save personnel and military equipment and prepare for the next step. the army group said it had inflicted losses on russian forces but continued attacks meant "there was a threat of encirclement" forcing it to withdraw.
according to reports, vukhledar is located about 50 kilometers southwest of donetsk. since the outbreak of the russia-ukraine conflict in february 2022, the russian army has been trying to occupy the town.
during the two-and-a-half-year war, the town saw particularly bloody fighting and was largely razed to the ground by shelling.
the report pointed out that since both russia and ukraine have invested a large amount of military resources in vukhledar, the gain and loss of this important town is of great symbolic significance.
according to the report, the institute of war, a us think tank, said it doubted whether russia would gain a strategic advantage from occupying the city. "it is unclear whether russian forces will make rapid advances outside vukhledar in the near future," it said in a battlefield analysis.
but kiev's withdrawal raises broader concerns about its ability to hold a 1,000-kilometer frontline against russian forces that enjoy manpower and ammunition advantages.
according to reports, while capturing vukhledar, russian troops are trying to advance further north to the logistics hub of pokrovsk. thousands of civilians have fled the mining city over the past month, and russian troops are now less than 10 kilometers away.
pokrovsk had 60,000 men before moscow's attack, and capturing it would be one of russia's most important events in months. (compiled/xu yanhong)
