The Collapse of Audiuka: Fallout for the Ukrainian Army

The withdrawal began too late… It seems that most of them were taken prisoners.
Decline in morale accelerates after failed counter-attack… Severe fallout
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 20th (local time) with the fall of Audiuka in eastern Ukraine to Russia, that the crisis faced by the Ukrainian army is turning out to be more serious than originally expected.

High-ranking Western officials point out that the defeat of Audiuka will greatly reduce the morale of the Ukrainian military, saying that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been captured by Russian forces or have gone missing because of their failure to withdraw from Audiuka .

As military support to Ukraine is cut off due to the refusal of the US Congress to pass the budget, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Ukrainian army to defend the front line due to a shortage of artillery shells.

Two local soldiers reported that 850 to 1,000 soldiers were missing during the withdrawal from Audiuka.

US officials emphasize that Audiuka’s withdrawal is not strategically important. It is argued that this will not lead to a complete collapse of the Ukrainian military defense line because the Russian military does not have the ability to launch an additional large-scale offensive.

However, as large numbers of Ukrainian soldiers are taken prisoner, opinions are changing. The reason for this is that Ukrainian military morale continues to decline due to the failure of the counteroffensive last summer, the replacement of the Supreme Commander, and difficulties in resupplying troops.

Ukraine’s army is asking for 500,000 more troops, but faces political opposition. As hundreds of soldiers with extensive combat experience have been taken prisoner this time, the military shortage is expected to become even more serious.

That is why the impact of Audiuka’s collapse is felt more than originally assessed.

General Oleksandr Tarnowski, the commander of the eastern region of Ukraine, said on Telegram on the 17th that although the withdrawal was carried out according to plan, “some Ukrainian troops were caught by enemy attacks at the end of the campaign.”

A senior official in Ukraine emphasized that only six soldiers were captured. However, local soldiers and Western officials said the withdrawal was not carried out in an orderly manner, causing chaos as the front line collapsed and large numbers of soldiers were captured. The withdrawal operation by the Ukrainian army was wrongly planned and started too late.

The Ukrainian army planned to withdraw its infantry while special forces and the elite 3rd Independent Assault Brigade blocked the Russian advance. However, these units failed to slow down the Russian advance.

In addition, as each unit used different communication equipment, a problem of poor communication between units caused the failure of the evacuation operation.

Local soldiers reported that one unit withdrew without contacting other units, resulting in the encirclement of the laggard unit.

A video of the Russian army occupying Audiuka executing a captured Ukrainian soldier is being circulated on social media.

Meanwhile, it seems that the Russian army also failed to foresee the rapid collapse of the Ukrainian army. “Russia is emphasizing of late the fall of Audiuka, but there are still no organized moves,” said Jonasan Tuebner, CEO of Pillar Labs AI, which tracks the Russian government’s propaganda moves on social media.

[서울=뉴시스]

Ukraine war

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