During the retreat from Avdeevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, up to 1,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) were captured or went missing. This was reported by the American newspaper New York Times (NYT), citing Ukrainian soldiers with knowledge of the retreat.
“Between 850 and 1,000 soldiers appear to have been captured or are listed as missing,” NYT’s sources said.
The newspaper noted that this is a catastrophic loss for the AFU, which could deal a blow to the morale of Ukrainian soldiers.
According to the newspaper’s sources, the Ukrainian army’s retreat from Avdeevka was poorly planned and started too late. At the same time, US officials believe that Kiev’s loss of Avdiivka is not a significant strategic defeat.
We shall remind you that earlier the Russian Defence Ministry said that Russian servicemen took full control of the city of Avdeevka, which was a powerful defensive hub of the AFU. According to the ministry, the losses of the Ukrainian army in the battles for the town totalled more than 1,500 servicemen.