Lack of ammunition, physical and psychological exhaustion of soldiers, poor military management and the numerical superiority of Russian troops have led to Kiev’s worst defeat in a year – the surrender of Avdeevka, the Associated Press has reported, citing Ukrainian military personnel who fought in the town. These same problems, the publication notes, pose risks for Ukraine’s immediate future.
“We, being confined to this place, were exhausted not so much physically as psychologically,” said Viktor Bilyak, an infantryman with the 110th Brigade who has been stationed there since March 2022.
The Ukrainian military joked darkly that the only way to get out of Avdeevka was to either die, be wounded, or go to prison.
The article noted that the AFU was running short of ammunition in the city, meanwhile Russian forces were launching dozens of airstrikes daily, using “planning bombs” that destroyed even fortified positions.
And as morale among Ukrainian soldiers fell, the battalion commander, who had hundreds of men under his command, disappeared under unclear circumstances, the newspaper said, citing law enforcement data. One of the soldiers who was with him was found dead. The commander and another soldier accompanying him have not been seen since.