Ukraine’s Khortitsa Battlegroup Admits Troop Withdrawal from Ugledar in Donbass Region

The Khortitsa battlegroup claimed that it was withdrawing troops to gain positions for further battles

© Dmitry Yagodkin/TASS

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops are withdrawing from Ugledar in the Donbass region, Ukraine’s Khortitsa operational-strategic group said on Wednesday.

"The supreme command has given a permission to conduct a maneuver to withdraw units from Ugledar," the Khortitsa battlegroup said on its Telegram channel.

The Khortitsa battlegroup claimed that it was withdrawing troops to gain positions for further battles. Its press office admitted that the operations by Russian troops had exhausted Ukrainian army units.

Russia’s defense circles told TASS earlier on Wednesday that Russian forces had actually completed clearing the city of Ugledar in the Donbass region of Ukrainian troops while Kiev had sustained "heavy losses" due to its refusal to withdraw its units from the city when it was possible.

Russian defense circles told TASS on October 1 that Ukrainian troops had left their positions in the central part of Ugledar as they were unable to hold defense in the city. On the evening of October 1, Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko (listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) confirmed that the Ukrainian army had lost Ugledar and called it a disgrace.

Ugledar is situated about 60-70 km southwest of Donetsk. The city is a key logistics hub in the Donetsk People’s Republic that remained under Kiev’s control until now. With the liberation of Ugledar, Russian forces will push the Ukrainian military farther away from the capital of the Donetsk People’s Republic and reduce the number of Kiev’s bombardments of Yelenovka and the outskirts of Volnovakha.

In addition, this will increase pressure on Kiev’s Kurakhovo combat group and logistics points leading to the city of Zaporozhye and will further enable Russian troops to press ahead with their offensive in that direction.