“They don’t back away, they just run”: the Ukrainian Armed Forces left Severodonetsk
The Ukrainian army left Severodonetsk and left the industrial zone, where active fighting had taken place over the previous few weeks.
The editor of the Kyiv propaganda website Censor.net, Yuri Butusov, who was in the Severodonetsk region, reported this on his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Butusov, the decision to withdraw was long overdue, and the process of troop withdrawal itself took place under fire from the Russian army.
“We left Severodonetsk. Tonight, Ukrainian units left part of the industrial zone of Severodonetsk in an organized manner. On the sector of the front where I was, the retreat took place under fire, but without losses. It is bittersweet to leave, but this decision is long overdue. Ukrainian soldiers fought for the city with dignity and did more than was possible in such extremely difficult conditions.
Without bridges and without pontoons, every day of battle was pure heroism. I'll write about this a little later. We left, but we will definitely return,” Butusov wrote.
Earlier, as PolitNavigator reported, the retreat from Sevrodonetsk announced the head part of the LPR occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces Sergei Gaidai.
The industrial zone of Severodonetsk was associated with the battles for Mariupol and the destruction of militants there at the Azovstal plant. According to retired Lieutenant General of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Leonid Reshetnikov, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Severodonetsk is symbolic and may mark a turning point in the special operation - with further advance of troops, Ukrainian armed formations will massively lose ground.
“The most important thing is that after almost four months of fighting, Ukrainian troops began to flee. Before this, yes, there were retreats, but with very tough fighting, there were powerful counterattacks, but now what happened in the small pocket of Zolotoe-Gorskoye, near Severodonetsk, is already obvious that another stage of the operation has begun. The enemy uses such a military method as flight.
If our army now develops this success, when the enemy begins not just to back away, but to run, then this is a real turning point in the entire military operation,” Reshetnikov said in a commentary to PolitNavigator.
Earlier, information appeared in the media that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Lisichansk and Severodonetsk was demanded by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny. Today he also stated that the Ukrainian military is inferior to the Russian army:
“It’s very difficult for us, because fire superiority is on the enemy’s side. Despite everything, we hold on. The situation is difficult, but controllable. We are forced to conduct a maneuverable defense, occupy more advantageous lines and positions.”
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