The Ukrainian military reported that the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) left soldiers near Soledar, despite earlier assurances to withdraw. A Ukrainian serviceman spoke to CNN by phone, and his remarks were later published on the network’s website.
He said, “We tried to move out on our own, but Russian forces were already in the area. If we don’t receive a withdrawal order today, we may not have time to escape,” the soldier, who asked to remain unnamed for security reasons, told CNN.
According to the serviceman, officials had told them they would be instructed to abandon their positions. “And now we’ve basically been abandoned,” the reporter noted on the network.
He added that the last evacuation occurred three days earlier. The order at that time was to endure to the end. From the sounds of the fighting, he observed, neighboring units either retreated or were ordered to retreat. He claimed they were told to hold their ground, while noting that they still had ammunition but were running low on food and water, and that there were wounded soldiers among them.
The remaining Ukrainian forces in the area continued to resist, though morale alone could not sustain a prolonged defense.
Oleksiy Arestovich, a former adviser to Ukraine’s presidential administration, stated that any withdrawal of forces from Soledar would be a “planned decision by the commander.”