ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine, January 18 – Wednesday’s overnight retreat from Debaltseve left the soldiers physically exhausted and mentally torn. While the retreat was necessary, it was also late in coming, the soldiers said.
The retreat was also a huge embarrassment — and the tipping point over frustrations with military commanders who the soldiers believe bungled the siege.
Featured Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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The Russians are coming, and this is my Ukraine — Ukraine or die,” said Trukhan, a sniper with the Lviv battalion. “But our commanders abandoned us. And the Ukrainian media were repeating what they were saying in Kiev — that we had everything, that we weren’t surrounded. It was all lies.”
Soldiers pulling back from the front lines Wednesday described their retreat as a tactical move — the same terminology Ukraine’s political leadership used. But the extent of the withdrawal has caused many to lose faith in their leaders’ ability to carry out future battles or even negotiate a respectable peace deal.
Featured Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Millennial Monitor, Washington, DC Copyright 2015 Millennial Monitor