Da ukrainske militære etter lang tids motstand oppgav kampen om den strategiske byen Avdijivka sist lørdag, fikk de beskjed om å etterlate 300 sårede i byen som akkurat hadde falt, melder CNN.

Skadede soldater i Avdijivka utvekslet desperate meldinger idet byen falt, skriver den amerikanske tv-kanalen, som opplyser at tilbaketrekningen gikk «raskt og nådeløst»:

The withdrawal was far less drawn out. When the Ukrainian military abandoned the town on Saturday, handing Russia its most important victory in months, it was rapid and ruthless.

“Leave the 300 (wounded),” one soldier was purportedly ordered, “and burn everything.”

Sårede ukrainske soldater skal også ha blitt henrettet av russiske tropper:

Hours after Russian troops raised their flags over Avdiivka, one horrifying story has emerged of several injured soldiers who failed to escape – and were later killed as Russian troops reached their position.

En ukrainsk soldat forteller om reaksjonene da beskjeden kom om ikke å ta med seg de sårede i den desperate situasjonen som var oppstått:

“There was zero visibility outside. It was just about survival. A kilometer across the field. A bunch of blind kittens guided by a drone. Enemy artillery. The road to Avdiivka is filled with Ukrainian corpses,” he wrote.

Eventually a commander informed him over the radio that the wounded would not be evacuated. Six men were left behind.

Meldingene fra de etterlatte gjorde sterkt inntrykk på soldaten:

The messages they left were hard to read, Biliak said.

“Their despair, their doom. It will always stay with us. The most courageous are the ones who die,” he said.

Ukrainas president Volodymyr Zelenskyj sier at tilbaketrekningen skjedde for å redde soldatenes liv.

Ukrainian forces made the decision over the weekend to abandon the town, handing Russia its most significant victory since it captured the city of Bakhmut last year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the decision to pull back was made to “save our soldiers’ lives.”

Men i krigens nådeløse kalkyle ser også liv ut til å ha blitt ofret.

Ivan Zhytnyk, en skadet etterlatt soldat, fikk videokontakt med søsteren:

Kateryna asks her brother: “So, what, they … no one is coming? Your guys are there too (with you), or are you alone?”

Zhytnyk replied: “Everyone left, everyone retreated. They told us that a car would pick us up. I have two broken legs, shrapnel in my back. I can’t do anything …

Kateryna responds: “I don’t know how to … who to call,” she said while crying. “I can’t figure it out. Who will pick you up?”

No one did.

Søsteren dro siden kjensel på liket av broren på en video offentliggjort av en russisk militærblogger.

Kona til Andrii Dubnytskyi, en annen soldat, som hadde vært i kontakt henne, takket være en tatovering på armen hans. Selv var Andrii blitt mobilisert da parets datter var fire måneder gammel.

CNN rapporterer også om andre, lignende vitnesbyrd.

Spørsmålet er om russerne lurte ukrainere som ville evakuere noen av sine sårede, i en dødelig felle:

In a statement published Monday, the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade said that it attempted to negotiate with Russian forces to evacuate wounded troops from the Zenit position after it was completely encircled.

“They [agreed] to evacuate our wounded and provide them with assistance, and subsequently exchange them (for other prisoners of war). Our soldiers were ordered to save their lives,” the statement read.

The brigade later learned its soldiers were killed from the video released by Russian forces.

Ukraina etterforsker sakene med de drepte ukrainske soldatene som russiske krigsforbrytelser.

Kjøp boken av Alf R. Jacobsen! Kjøp eboken her.