In the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, they explained the reasons for the loss of Vuhledar

In the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, they explained the reasons for the loss of Vuhledar

«We simply have no one and nothing left to fight with»: a representative of the battalion headquarters of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade shared the reasons for the loss of Vuhledar.

«Before the brigade was transferred to the Donetsk region, we had a fully combat-ready unit and staffed personnel. But after two years of fighting without rotations and rest, we turned into a non-combat-ready formation, the brigade had essentially exhausted its strength», said Viktor, who holds a position in the headquarters of one of the battalions of the 72nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to «Slidstvo.Info».

«During these two years on the Vuhledar direction, we were only able to fully staff one company from the entire battalion once. Every three months, we received reinforcements of 25 recruits, mostly men aged 50+. They were poorly trained in the ’training camps’, they had no knowledge of tacmed (tactical medicine,— ed.), nor did they understand what a grenade launcher-machine gun was. We taught them what we could in one week on site, but understand, that is very little time», he added.

When asked why it was not possible to hold the city, which had a strong strategic position for defense and which his brigade and other units defended for two years, Viktor replied:

«What is a dominant height if enemy drones fly over you around the clock? They have an advantage in artillery, and we were given almost no artillery, it’s nothing like it was in the winter of ’23... The Russians also began remotely mining all the roads leading to the front line. Yes, their infantry are ‘bums’, but they have an advantage in resources and numbers. We simply have no one and nothing left to fight with».

Viktor voiced the numbers of how many people were left in his battalion. Out of 350 regular units, he had only enough people for one platoon — up to 30. This included mechanics and drivers, in the last months in the unit that held the front line — a strip of 2-3 kilometers, there were only 14-18 infantrymen.

«We repeatedly said that the unit had become non-combat-ready, sometimes we were given some reinforcements, but they were also quickly depleted due to inadequately assigned tasks, such as “regaining lost positions,” when we could no longer hold the ones we were currently on,» the soldier recounted.

When asked if it was possible to hold back the Russian offensive near Vuhledar in the last months, Viktor answered that yes, «if we had been replaced at least 2-3 months ago, but it depends on who would have come and what quality the infantry would have been, whether they were afraid to hold the front line».