Most of the Ukrainian military have left Avdiivka as of Saturday evening, and the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has no reports of large-scale captivity of their soldiers.

Source: Oleksandr Borodin, Press officer of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on air of the Ukrainska Pravda project UP.Summary; 3rd Separate Assault Brigade on Telegram

Quote: “We have now retreated to our prepared positions… Most of the troops have already left, but this takes a while. It is important to understand that such operations are very complicated, sometimes more complicated than assault operations… The lion’s share of this process is done, but some elements remain.

I have no information about any people who are surrounded. There are just a few more steps that need to be taken, but the logistics are working, everything is fine.”

Details: The representative of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade noted that the brigade withdrew to the positions “prepared from an engineering point of view”.

He also does not have any reports of Ukrainian soldiers being captured on a large scale. However, Borodin noted that it is too early to draw conclusions, as the process of the Defence Forces’ withdrawal from Avdiivka is not yet complete.

Quote: “It’s hard to say whether everyone [left Avdiivka], we are not the only ones there.  There is no systemic or unit-level capture, as far as my brigade is concerned.”

More details: Meanwhile, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade noted on Telegram that until the withdrawal, the brigade’s soldiers had prevented the Russians from completely surrounding their positions.

“The brigade withdrew to prepared positions on the outskirts of Avdiivka and levelled the front line.  At the moment, the Russians are not slowing down their offensive.  We continue to hold the line on the Avdiivka front,” the report says.

Reports say that since the brigade was relocated to Avdiivka, its units have inflicted significant losses on the key offensive group of the Russian army.

Thus, about 1500 Russians were killed; over 3500 were wounded, and more than 20 armoured vehicles were destroyed.

Background: On the night of 16-17 February, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, announced the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from Avdiivka.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia’s losses in Avdiivka were seven times higher than Ukraine’s.

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces (OSGF), reported that Ukraine will appeal to international humanitarian organisations and intermediary countries over “a certain number” of Ukrainian soldiers captured in the war-torn town of Avdiivka.

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