why the capture of Vouhledar by the Russian army constitutes a strategic and symbolic defeat for kyiv

After two and a half years of fighting, the Ukrainian army withdrew from this city, illustrating its difficulties in maintaining its positions in the east of the country.

She ended up falling. The Ukrainian army announced on Wednesday October 2 that it was withdrawing from the town of Vouhledar, leaving it in the hands of Russian troops after two and a half years of deadly fighting. “The high command gave authorization to the withdrawal maneuver from Vouhledar to allow men and military equipment to be saved and new positions to be taken for the continuation of operations”explained on Telegram the grouping of Ukrainian forces in the area. Franceinfo explains to you why this withdrawal is a hard blow to kyiv in the conflict.

Because Vouhledar is a highly strategic position

The fighting in this town, which had nearly 15,000 inhabitants before the start of the war on February 24, 2022, began in the first weeks of the Russian offensive. A coal mining town located in the Donetsk region (east of the country), built by the Soviet Union in the 1960s, Vouhledar was one of Moscow’s priority targets.

In addition to the presence of coal mines, the city, today largely destroyed by incessant bombing, offers the advantage of being located at a height and allowing the troops who control it to have a panoramic view of the area. It is also a strategic crossroads for the supply of both camps, as it is located at the junction of the eastern (Luhansk and Donetsk regions) and southern (Zaporijia and Kherson regions) fronts.

This war will offer Russia the possibility of striking Ukraine even more deeply and will force Ukrainian troops to retreat. “Vouhledar is a logistical node which, in the event of loss, would mechanically imply a retreat of the defensive line, because the Ukrainians would then have to rely on other logistical nodes located deeper”had explained has West France Thibault Fouillet, scientific director of the Institute for Strategy and Defense Studies, before the Ukrainian withdrawal. “Potentially, the loss of the city threatens the security of the entire southwestern part of Donetsk Oblast”also summarized at the end of September Federico Borsari, researcher at the Center for European Policy Analysis, in the Kyiv Independent.

Because this withdrawal illustrates the shortcomings of the Ukrainian army

As early as September, several Ukrainian officials had estimated that holding Vouhledar was becoming increasingly difficult, with the Russians constantly shelling this area with very powerful guided aerial bombs. “The main tactic [des Russes] was to surround us from the flanks, and they did that constantly for six to seven months with constant air attacks. Thanks to this tactic, they managed to exhaust our resources, because we don’t have as many as they do.”Arsenii Prylipka, head of the press office of the 72nd brigade, which has been defending the city since August 2022, told ABC.

Yet Ukrainian troops managed to push back the Russians last year. “In January and September 2023 in particular, the Russians had lost dozens, even hundreds of armored vehicles and tanks, destroyed by Ukrainian artillery and minefields installed for months”writing Le Figaro.

But, despite this fierce resistance, the Ukrainian troops had to give in, particularly in the face of the Russian strike force. “They have equipment, they have weapons and they have more people than us”explained to AFP a Ukrainian commander, responsible for defending the city. Symbolically, Vouhledar therefore constitutes a heavy loss after more than two and a half years of struggle and while Volodymyr Zelensky went to the United States two weeks ago to present his “victory plan”, still demanding authorization from the Americans and Europeans to use their weapons at long range.

Because its fall symbolizes Russian advances

Before claiming this victory, Russia first exercised caution. “Our soldiers are in Vouhledar, a Russian flag has been planted on the local administration building. However, it is premature to talk about taking the city”Ian Gaguin, an advisor to the leader of the occupation forces of the Donetsk region, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday. “There are still scattered units of the Ukrainian army. A clean-up operation is underway and will take some time,” he added.

But this fall illustrates the advances of the Russians, who are nibbling ground in the East and are getting ever closer to Pokrovska key city for Ukrainian logistics. This victory comforts Vladimir Putin as he has just presented his 2025 budget bill which provides for a 30% surge in military spending next year. The national military budget had already exploded by almost 70% in 2024. The Russian president had erected in mid-September “strengthening the country’s defense capacity” And “integration of regions” Ukrainian women occupied like “priorities”.