Vuhledar Falls Into Russian Hands, Ukrainian Military Commander Orders Eastern Defense To Be Strengthened

General Oleksandr Syrskyi (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he had ordered defense in the eastern Donetsk region to be strengthened, a day after Kyiv forces announced they had withdrawn from Vuhledar City.

Russian troops continue to advance in various sectors in eastern Ukraine, despite Kyiv's sudden attack on Russia's western Kursk region in August which is expected to slow progress.

General Syrskyi said on social media he was working in "one of the hottest front-line sectors" with the 25th Sicheslav Cross-Air Brigade.

He did not provide details about the exact location but the brigade was operating on the front lines of Pokrovsk, an intensive Russian attack region.

"While working at the brigade, I made a number of decisions aimed at strengthening the stability and effectiveness of our defense," General Syrskyi said.

More than two and a half years of full-scale war, Ukrainian troops are in a defensive position.

The Ukrainian military announced on Wednesday that it was pulling troops from the coal mining town of Vuhledar, a fort on the hilltop that had survived a intense attack after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine's eastern military command said on Wednesday it had ordered a withdrawal from Vuhledar to avoid a siege by Russian troops and to "protect personnel and military equipment".

Russia has used this tactic a lot to secure control over other Ukrainian settlements.

Moscow troops now control nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow's main tactical goal was to capture the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Russian troops have moved forward to the west at key points along the approximately 150 km (95 miles) frontline in the Donetsk region, with Pokrovsk logistics center as the main target.

In its daily report on the battlefield situation, Ukraine's General Staff cited the number of clashes in the last day reaching 142. Most occurred on the front lines of Pokrovsk, with 29 reports and on the front lines of Kurakhove with 27 reports.