Ukraine's 72nd Brigade releases video from Vuhledar, denies claims about withdrawal

Ukraine's 72nd Mechanized Brigade on Sept. 26 refuted reports that it was retreating from the embattled town of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast.

The brigade released a video purportedly from Vuhledar saying it had been filmed there earlier in the day.

"We want to dispel all doubts and the pseudo-experts' thoughts that the 72nd Brigade withdrew from Vuhledar," a Ukrainian soldier said. "Despite heavy assaults and difficult circumstances, we are still there."

The statement came after a media report suggested Ukrainian soldiers had begun to withdraw from the town, adding Vuhledar was "about to fall."

The 72nd Mechanized Brigade has defended Vuhledar for nearly two years, as Russian forces have been trying to capture the town since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

The front-line town lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of occupied Donetsk and roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Vuhledar has withstood numerous attacks since the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022 and has become key to Ukrainian defenses in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast.

The crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState reported that Russian forces are aiming to encircle Vuhledar.

Russian troops had not reached the outskirts of town as of Sept. 25, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin.

"Sabotage and reconnaissance groups are coming in, but our defenders are trying to knock them out. This means that the town is not yet captured," he added.

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The long-embattled town of Vuhledar, key to Ukrainian defenses in the southeastern part of Donetsk Oblast, is under threat of encirclement and is being “razed to the ground,” according to reports on Sept. 24. Located 50 kilometers south of Pokrovsk, the strategic roadway junction, Vuhledar is often…

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova