On Wednesday, Russian troops took control of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a strategic location that had withstood intense assaults since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. This development highlights Russia’s considerable superiority in manpower and equipment, as Ukraine continues to request more military support from its Western allies.
In response to the threat of encirclement by Russian forces, Ukraine’s eastern military command ordered a withdrawal from the hilltop coal mining town to “preserve personnel and military equipment.” While the Russian defense ministry did not mention Vuhledar in its daily battlefield report, Russian Telegram channels shared videos of troops waving the Russian tricolor flag over the town’s devastated landscape.
Before the war, Vuhledar had a population of over 14,000, but it has been largely destroyed, with Soviet-era apartment buildings in ruins. The Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper reported that the last Ukrainian troops from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, known for their fierce resistance, withdrew late Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia’s primary tactical objective is to capture the entire Donbas region, which includes the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in southeastern Ukraine. Currently, Russia controls approximately 80% of the Donbas, a key industrial hub where the conflict began in 2014 following Moscow’s support for pro-Russian separatists after a pro-Russian president was ousted in Kyiv and Russia annexed Crimea.
RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN VUHLEDAR
Since the onset of the conflict in February 2022, the war has predominantly consisted of grueling artillery and drone strikes along a heavily fortified 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front, involving hundreds of thousands of troops. However, the battlefield dynamics shifted significantly in August, when Ukraine breached the border in Russia’s Kursk region to divert Russian forces, allowing Russian troops to advance more swiftly in eastern Ukraine.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have been making significant gains along key points of a 150-kilometer (95-mile) front in the Donetsk region, with Vuhledar becoming a major target following the capture of Ukrainsk on September 17. Russian troops began encircling Vuhledar, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Pokrovsk.
Employing pincer tactics, Russian forces aimed to trap and constrict Ukrainian strongholds, subjecting Vuhledar to heavy bombardment from artillery and aerial glide bombs. Both sides have refrained from disclosing their casualties, each claiming that the other has suffered substantial losses.
Control of Vuhledar is crucial as it will facilitate Russia’s advance deeper into Ukrainian territory, potentially allowing them to push toward Velyka Novosilka, located just over 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the west. Vuhledar’s strategic position also lies close to a railway line connecting Crimea to the Donbas region. As of now, Russian forces control approximately 98.5% of the Luhansk region and 60% of the Donetsk region.
