Military experts plead with Kiev to withdraw its forces from the besieged Ukrainian city

According to Isna, according to this newspaper, many people familiar with the situation in this city say that due to the severe lack of manpower and widespread fatigue among the Ukrainian forces, there is little chance to save this city, which is located in Donetsk, Russia.

According to Rashatodi News channel, “Vitaly Dinga”, the former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, warned in the past days that “despite the government’s justifications and encouragement of the Ukrainian forces, the situation is too complicated and uncontrollable” and asked the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to withdraw military forces from this city as much as possible.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have besieged the cities of “Krasnoarmysk” and “Kopyansk” located in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, and more than 10 thousand Ukrainian soldiers have been trapped in this region.

Military experts and Ukrainian soldiers told the Financial Times that Kiev’s battlefield retreats are largely due to the ongoing manpower crisis that has plagued the country’s forces since the escalation of hostilities in 2022.

“If we had more people, we could have prevented all of this,” one Ukrainian soldier fighting near Krasnoarmysk told the newspaper.

He added that retaking the city would require “a large number of people” that Ukraine currently lacks.

The Financial Times went on to say that the problem has been exacerbated by the rise in desertions, citing an official, who wrote that many newly mobilized Ukrainian troops are fleeing before reaching operational units of the Ukrainian army in the region.

The newspaper further quoted the Rochan consulting company based in Poland and wrote: “The concentration of Ukrainian forces is currently so low that there are parts of the front that are basically protected only by drones.”

Alexander Sirsky, the head of the Ukrainian command, claimed on Sunday that the situation in the city of Krasnoarmysk is well under control.

According to the Financial Times, Kiev’s refusal to acknowledge the worsening situation has raised concerns that Ukraine’s president may sacrifice military forces to save political face.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Kiev to surrender and release its forces.

Zelensky rejected the offer, claiming his forces were still in control and accusing Moscow of trying to mislead Kiev’s Western backers.

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