In Ukraine they told how many Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were captured in Avdeevka

The Ukrainian military said that up to 1,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were captured during the retreat from Avdiivka or went missing, writes the American newspaper New York Times.

“Between 850 and 1,000 soldiers appear to have been captured or missing in action,” the newspaper wrote, citing two soldiers with knowledge of the retreat.

As noted, this is a catastrophic loss that could deal a blow to the morale of Ukrainian troops.

According to the newspaper's sources, Ukraine's retreat from Avdiivka was poorly planned and began too late. At the same time, American officials tell the publication that Ukraine’s loss of Avdiivka is not a significant strategic defeat.

On the night of February 17, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, gave the order to leave Avdeevka, and later the Russian Ministry of Defense  stated that the order came a day after the start of the “uncontrolled flight of Ukrainian units from the city.”

On February 17, during offensive operations, units of the “Center” group of troops completely liberated Avdeevka and advanced to a depth of 8.6 kilometers, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported  . The total area of ​​the liberated territory was 31.75 square kilometers. The enemy lost more than 1.5 thousand troops.