Support Us


Ukraine's Armed Forces explain why number of people missing in action during withdrawal from Avdiivka is not revealed

Wednesday, 21 February 2024, 21:32
Ukraine's Armed Forces explain why number of people missing in action during withdrawal from Avdiivka is not revealed
Stock photo: Getty Images

The Ukrainian side has not yet revealed the number of soldiers who have gone missing in action while retreating from the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast since the verification is still underway.

Source: Dmytro Lykhovii, Head of the Public Relations Department of the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group, in the broadcast of Radio Liberty

Quote: "I have data close to concrete numbers since we deal with them but do not disclose them so far because the verification has not been finished. Some people, some soldiers, are getting in touch with our side…These are mostly the people from the Zenit position where the verification is also ongoing, and we cannot provide the exact number so as not to be accused of disinformation. To tell the truth is a bit harder than to spread fake news, as the truth needs to be checked."

Advertisement:

Details: Lykhovii stated separately that there had not been hundreds of captured or missing people, as it was reported by The New York Times, which referred to anonymous Ukrainian soldiers.

Quote: "While the New York Times uses the word ‘hundreds’, we say that the count is not hundreds. In this case, unfortunately, they play along with the Russian propaganda and do not want to hear arguments or take into account the facts that are given to them, that are provided to them. They refer to anonymous sources, which cannot be informed in this sense, and these sources are likewise spreading Russian narratives, spread as a continuation of the offensive in Avdiivka."

Background: The New York Times published an article claiming that "hundreds of Ukrainian troops may have been captured or disappeared" during the recent withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka. Commenting on this data, the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group said that the New York Times had spread the Russian narrative without any justification.

Support UP or become our patron!

Advertisement: