Ukrainian troops retreating from the eastern frontline town of Avdiivka have been captured during a dangerous retreat, a Ukrainian military commander has revealed.
“At the final stage of the (withdrawal) operation, under the pressure of the overwhelming enemy forces, a certain number of Ukrainian servicemen were captured,” Ukrainian Brigadier-General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi wrote on Telegram.
He said Ukrainian troops had now moved to the second line of defences near Avdiivka.
The withdrawal from Avdiivka was announced by the newly-appointed Ukrainian military chief Oleksandry Syrskyi earlier on Friday.
It is the first Ukrainian area to fall to Russia since the takeover of the nearby besieged Bakhmut last May, an attack that was led by the mercenary Wagner Group.
“Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defence on more favourable lines,” Gen Syrskyi wrote.
Earlier this week, a crack 3rd Assault Brigade was rotated in to defend the city from a Russian encirclement after the Kremlin’s forces pushed into the northeast and south of the city.