"A dozen of our bodies likely remain on road to Avdiivka": 110th Brigade fighter on defense of town, Zenit position

He recalled that during the defense, the logistics routes were working, so supplies could be delivered to Zenit through Avdiivka. This position was most often shelled by Russians with mortars, tanks, armored infantry vehicles, and kamikaze drones.

Viktor said that during the retreat from the position there was poor visibility, but this was not an advantage, as the enemy managed to aim weapons regardless of visibility. Thus, according to him, when the fighters were retreating from Zenit, several 120 mm mortars, tanks, kamikaze drones, rockets, and Grads were firing.

"And for us, it was a big disadvantage because we could not see where we were going [due to poor visibility], it did not allow us to move effectively," the soldier said.

Viktor Bilyak spoke about his health: "I'm fine, just a scar on my face and a few wounds." According to him, those soldiers who managed to withdraw from the position were lightly wounded.

He added: "We were all able to move, we just had some hits, small shrapnel wounds. Those who were seriously wounded just stayed there (at the position - ed.)."

Earlier, Bilyak said that these seriously wounded were supposed to be evacuated, but they could not be taken out. The soldier noted that the military do not know why the evacuation did not take place.

After that, it became known that soldiers who did not leave Avdiivka were executed. According to him, earlier it was reported that six people were killed at the "Museum" position, and there is a video shot on the territory defended by the 110th Brigade soldiers where five bodies can be seen lying there.

"There are probably a dozen of our bodies on the road to Avdiivka as well, but they can only be identified by a process of elimination," said the serviceman.

More about the 110th Brigade and the Zenit position

For almost two years, units of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade have been in Avdiivka. On February 13, 2024, it became known that for the first time in these 24 months, it was decided that some units would withdraw from the town for rest and rotation due to the arrival of reinforcements.

The brigade was defending the Zenit position on the southeastern outskirts of Avdiivka. Ukrainian soldiers repeatedly tried to leave this zone, as Viktor Bilyak, a soldier of the 110th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wrote on social media.

On February 16, the command decided to withdraw from the position in order to save personnel and improve the operational situation.

Nevertheless, seriously wounded soldiers remained at this position. The 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade stated that the Russian side had promised to evacuate them and subsequently exchange them.

In the evening of February 17, Russians posted a video online showing the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Some of them were recognized by their relatives: these were Ukrainian defenders who could not be evacuated from Zenit.