Russian forces have captured the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, which had resisted intense assaults since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Reuters reports.
Ukraine’s eastern military command ordered a withdrawal from Vuhledar to avoid encirclement by Russian forces and to preserve personnel and equipment. Vuhledar, a strategically important coal-mining town, has been devastated by the conflict, and Russian media shared videos of troops raising the Russian flag in the town, which had a pre-war population of over 14,000. The capture of Vuhledar could facilitate further Russian advances deeper into Ukrainian territory, particularly toward the logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
President Vladimir Putin aims to secure the entire Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, with Russia currently controlling 98.5% of the Luhansk region and 60% of Donetsk. The capture highlights Russia’s military superiority in personnel and equipment as Ukraine seeks more support from Western allies.
