Encirclement, captivity, executions, and retreat under air bombs. What is known about withdrawal from Avdiivka

On February 19, the last units of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade withdrew from their positions at the Avdiivka Coke Plant, ending the operation to defend the town, which had been undergoing fighting since 2014. The military-political command justified the decision by saving the lives of the soldiers and announced its intention to retake Avdiivka under more favorable conditions.

Even as the Ukrainian Armed Forces were withdrawing from the settlement, there were reports of some units being surrounded and of Ukrainian soldiers being taken prisoner. Later, the Russians released a video showing killed Ukrainian soldiers. hromadske talked to the defenders of Avdiivka about the battles for the town, the retreat from their positions, prisoners, and missing brothers-in-arms.

What led to the retreat?

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have been defending Avdiivka for almost 10 years, since July 2014. Back then, Ukrainian forces drove out the Russian militants of the so-called "DPR" who had been controlling the town since late April. Since then, Avdiivka has been one of the key strongholds in the Donetsk sector. The fighting for the town and its surroundings lasted until 2018.

Avdiivka is located 13 kilometers from Donetsk, so there was active fighting for the settlement from the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The massive Russian offensive began on October 10, 2023, and the pressure only increased during the winter.

Speaking to hromadske, the acting commander of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the Presidential Brigade, call sign Samurai, noted that in January-February 2024, the Russians brought in more reserves and aircraft:

"Their losses were heavy from day one, both in manpower and equipment. But they have been using less equipment lately. We burned a lot of it, smashed it – it's used there now too, but not in columns of 60 units, as it was at first. They are coming more as infantry."

According to Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational and strategic troop grouping, the Russians have lost almost 50,000 soldiers in the four months of the offensive.

Battalion Commander Samurai emphasizes that the capture of Avdiivka came at a high cost to the Russians: "In the northern direction, in the area of Krasnohorivka and Stepove, according to intelligence, we defeated two of their brigades. Can you imagine, for four months they were constantly storming Avdiivka. It is impossible to compare this with our losses – both in equipment and manpower."

Samurai notes that the enemy has gained a significant advantage in recent months, when it brought in fresh forces – brigades that were on recuperation or in reserve.

At the same time, the Russians had a multiple advantage in firepower and the ability to attack from the sky, Anton Kotsukon, spokesman for the 110th Brigade, said in a comment to Radio Liberty:

"They had ten times as many guns as we did, not to mention shells. In addition, they were throwing over 100 huge guided bomb units on the Avdiivka axis these days: 250 kg, 500 kg, up to 1.5 tons."

On February 15, the Third Separate Assault Brigade reported that its units had been deployed to raid the Russian-held areas of Avdiivka. On February 17, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced the withdrawal of the Ukrainian group from the town.

Anton Kotsukon, a spokesman for the 110th Brigade, noted that the withdrawal of the Defense Forces is a multi-level operation:

"It is extremely complex in terms of logistics, in terms of management. Several thousand people have to leave the town simultaneously, like clockwork. It's not like everyone just left their positions and started marching. Some go out, others cover. Everyone should know their routes, everyone should know where to go, where the evacuation points are, where medical care will be provided."

How withdrawal from Zenit happened

Zenit is a key fortified area in the south of Avdiivka, which was important for holding the town and for supplying the rest of the garrison. The 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade held the defense of this stronghold.

Viktor Bilyak, a soldier with the 110th Mechanized Brigade, told hromadske that the Russians were constantly using mortars, tanks, IFVs, kamikaze drones, and rockets against his unit during the retreat.

"There was zero visibility during the retreat. This was not an advantage for us, because there is no such thing as ‘night’ or ‘day’ in thermal imaging – the enemy could still fire. But for us, it was a big disadvantage, because we could not see where we were going, which made it very difficult to move," Bilyak recalls.

Exit from Avdiivka Coke Plant

In the north of Avdiivka, the main fortified area was the Avdiivka Coke Plant. Soldiers from the Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Separate Presidential Brigade held the defense there, among others.

The interim acting commander of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion, codenamed Samurai, assured that the order to withdraw from the positions was given in a timely manner, and the operation was planned jointly with the Third Assault Brigade, which provided cover. According to the commander, his battalion withdrew from the coke plant without losses.

Oleksandr, a company commander with the 2nd Mechanized Battalion, is convinced that if not for the massive air strikes, they would not have left their positions. He considers the retreat to be well-organized and well-executed:

"Of course, it was difficult because we were under constant fire - the enemy did not want to let us retreat. But there was no such thing as someone rushing to get the hell out of there. Some of the units left in armored vehicles, while others moved on foot to disperse the enemy's attention."

How many soldiers were captured?

The New York Times has spread information that during the withdrawal from Avdiivka, allegedly 850-1,000 Ukrainian soldiers were captured or are considered missing.

In a comment to hromadske, the spokesman for the Tavria Operational and Strategic Troop Grouping, Dmytro Lykhoviy, denied this, saying that the data on prisoners is still being verified, but it is definitely not hundreds of soldiers.

The commander of the Tavria grouping, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, confirmed on February 17 that some of the soldiers were indeed captured at the final stage of the retreat.

Soldiers of the Third Assault Brigade were also surrounded, but after the operation was over, they told hromadske that they managed to retreat without major losses. When talking to our journalists, soldiers from other units gave a similar assessment.

Why were the seriously wounded left behind?

However, there are those who did not manage to leave their positions. First of all, we are talking about the severely wounded who had to be evacuated separately from their units.

This was also reported by relatives of the soldiers from the 110th Brigade. Later, the Ukrainian soldiers were recognized by their relatives in a video showing the bodies of the captured prisoners at the Zenit position, which was distributed by the Russians themselves.

Viktor Bilyak, a soldier with the 110th Brigade, said that five of the soldiers from his brigade who were shot dead have been identified. The sixth man in the video was most likely from another unit. Bilyak claims that on the road from Avdiivka there are a dozen more bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, which cannot be identified yet.

Anton Kotsukon, spokesman for the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, assured that they tried to get there with armored vehicles and pickup trucks to fetch the wounded: "At some point, the enemy's advance was so rapid that the equipment could not physically get there – they simply shot absolutely everything that moved."

The brigade command also noted that they had warned the enemy about the seriously wounded soldiers at this position – they had agreed with the Russians in advance to provide them with assistance and further exchange.