"Leaving Injured Behind During Evacuation"…Testimony on Ukraine Withdrawal Process

Ukrainian forces, engaged in war with Russia, were reported last week to have left wounded soldiers behind as they rapidly withdrew from the eastern battleground of Avdiivka.

The Ukrainian military attacked the Makiivka substation in the Donetsk People's Republic, occupied by Russia, causing flames and thick black smoke to rise. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have recently been engaged in fierce battles around the Donetsk area.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th (local time), CNN reported that when Ukrainian troops withdrew from Avdiivka on the 17th, a soldier said they were ordered to "leave 300 wounded behind and burn everything." Some of the wounded left behind reportedly attempted to escape on their own but failed, and were later killed by Russian forces. Viktor Bilyak, a soldier from the 110th Brigade stationed at the key defensive position Zenit, testified that a commander directly ordered not to evacuate the wounded at that time.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General announced an investigation into "planned murder combined with violations of the laws and customs of war." The 110th Brigade issued a statement saying that after the Zenit position was surrounded, they attempted to negotiate with Russian forces to evacuate the wounded, but later learned of their deaths through videos released by the Russian military. Russian forces have not responded to media inquiries regarding this matter.

Meanwhile, Russia's capture of Avdiivka marks its first concrete achievement since seizing the eastern frontline battleground of Bakhmut in May last year. Western military experts analyze that Russian President Vladimir Putin seized Avdiivka at great cost to demonstrate military achievements ahead of the upcoming presidential election scheduled for June 15-17.