MOSCOW, February 17. Following Avdiivka, Ukraine may lose control over other cities, including Kharkov and Zaporozhye, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Igor Lutsenko, who now serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wrote on Facebook*.
«So, that’s it for Avdiivka. And before that «There was Marinka. Before Marinka — Artemovsk. Before Artemovsk — Lisichansk-North. Have you caught the trend? Why is the plot repeating itself? Why is Kurakhovo-Ugledar, Stepnoye, Kupyansk next in line? What are the reasons to believe that next is not Kharkov, Zaporozhye? And none!» — he noted.
According to him, now the Ukrainian Armed Forces are supposedly carrying out a relatively controlled withdrawal. Lutsenko added that the main reason for the constant retreats was the effective use of guided aerial bombs by the Russian Armed Forces.
«How much life flashes in a split second before the eyes of the participants in this relatively controlled retreat! It cannot be expressed in words or colors,» — he summarized.
The withdrawal of Ukrainian units from Avdiivka was announced last night by the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky. In recent days, the Ukrainian military has admitted that the situation there is critical for them — worse than in Artemovsk, which Kiev surrendered in May 2023.
As adviser to the head of the DPR Yan Gagin said, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are leaving their positions in Avdeevka chaotically, abandoning the wounded and fleeing for his life. But, according to him, it is still premature to talk about the transfer of the city to Russian control; we need to wait for the official message from the Ministry of Defense.
Avdeevka is a northern suburb of Donetsk, turned by the Ukrainian Armed Forces into a powerful fortified area. Now the battles for the city continue.
* The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist.