The Ukrainian military said that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) abandoned soldiers near Soledar, despite promising to withdraw. He told this to CNN reporters over the phone, and his words were published on the channel’s website.
“We tried to go on our own, but… [русские] already there. “If we don’t get a withdrawal order today, we probably won’t have time to leave,” said a Ukrainian soldier, who has not been named for security reasons, by CNN.
According to the soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, his command informed them that they would be ordered to abandon their positions. “And now we’ve just been abandoned,” said the TV station.
“The last eviction was three days ago. The order was to endure to the end. Judging by the sounds of war, our neighbors [другие части] either retreated or ordered to retreat. We were told to hold on,” he said, adding that they still had ammunition, but they had run out of food and water, and that there were also injured people.
He added that the remaining troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this region are still resisting, but it is impossible to stay in morale alone for a long time.
Oleksiy Arestovich, Former Adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine declarationThat the possible withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Soledar will be a “planned decision of the commander”.