Battles for Vuhledar became one of bloodiest for Russia in entire war - Forbes
The Russians may finally capture Vuhledar. But it will cost them thousands of military lives and a significant loss of military equipment.
According to Censor.NET, Forbes writes about this.
The publication notes that during the two years of fighting for Vuhledar, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed about two brigades of equipment - that is, 6% of all equipment that Russia has lost since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"A decisive offensive by the 57th motorized rifle brigade of the Russian army that began this week has broken through the defenses of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army. Russian troops are now in the southern city of Vuhledar, and the exhausted Ukrainian garrison may already be retreating to the north," the article says.
The journalists add that Russia has been trying to capture Vuhledar since the end of 2022. During this time, the Russian occupation forces have lost about a thousand pieces of equipment and several thousand soldiers, as the 72nd Mechanized Brigade destroyed entire Russian brigades with mines, artillery, anti-tank missiles and drones.
The enemy had the hardest time from late 2022 to early 2023. At that time, in the fields outside Vuhledar, Russian operations were led by a pair of marine units of the Russian Pacific Fleet: The 40th and 155th Marine Brigades. Their unsuccessful attacks were among the bloodiest of the war. For example, the 155th Brigade, which on paper numbered about 3,000 soldiers, was losing up to 300 people a day for several days and was almost destroyed by February 2023. After being replenished, they were defeated again.
"The 155th Marine Brigade, which on paper numbered about 3,000 soldiers, lost up to 300 soldiers daily for several days in a row and was almost destroyed by February 2023," the authors of the material cited data from the Warsaw Institute.
Instead, the 40th Marine Brigade had better results, but not by much. In total, these and auxiliary units have written off about a thousand tanks, combat vehicles, trucks, and artillery pieces, according to WarSpotting. This is about two brigades of equipment and almost six percent of all the vehicles that Russia has lost in 31 months of heavy fighting in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost much less in this area, as the defenders were mostly in trenches and bunkers and fired at the Russians from afar with mines, artillery, rockets, and drones.
The situation in Vuhledar
Earlier, Deep State analysts reported that the Russian occupiers had advanced in the area of Vuhledar.
A Forbes analyst said that the Russian occupation forces could cut off the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which has been defending Vuhledar for 20 months.
The situation around Vuhledar is critical and continues to deteriorate, Deep State noted.
On September 25, British intelligence reported that Russian occupation forces were storming Vuhledar from three sides.
The Land Forces stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would withdraw from Vuhledar if it was not possible to hold the line in the urban area.
