Defensive bastion of Vuhledar falls to Russia

Ukraine has said that its forces have withdrawn from the eastern city of Vuhledar, a defensive bastion that had resisted repeated attacks since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion.

- Luke Harding

The military command in Kyiv said its troops left late last Tuesday. They had retreated in order to preserve personnel and combat equipment, it said, adding that Russian combat units had attacked from three directions and were close to "encircling" the city.

The fall of Vuhledar is a boost for the Kremlin and comes as Russian troops advance across the eastern Donetsk oblast. In February they captured the city of Avdiivka, outside the regional capital of Donetsk, occupied in 2014.

Since then the Russian advance has swallowed up towns and villages and come to within 10km of the city of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub 80km north of Vuhledar. Defence experts think Ukraine may next have to retreat from other under-pressure urban settlements, including Toretsk and Selydove.

Russian Telegram channels published video of triumphant troops waving the Russian flag over shattered buildings in Vuhledar.