The spokesman for the Khortytsya operational and strategic grouping of troops, Nazar Voloshyn, told Suspilne TV by phone that the Ukrainian Defence Forces had withdrawn from Urozhayne, Donetsk Region.
"Due to the fact that Russians destroyed almost everything in Urozhayne, the defence forces have withdrawn to other positions. A decision was made. It was made to save the lives and health of our servicemen who were holding the defence there," said the spokesman for the operational and strategic group.
The decision to withdraw from Urozhayne was made because the positions of the Defence Forces, as well as the settlement itself, were destroyed by constant, combined and prolonged shelling by Russian troops, Voloshyn explained.
"The settlement itself was also almost completely destroyed by Russian shelling. The positions of the Ukrainian defenders were destroyed, and it was a threat to the lives of our military to keep the personnel there," said the Khortytsya operational-strategic group spokesman.
According to Voloshyn, the Russian army does not count losses when destroying Ukrainian cities and towns.
"To achieve successes and some victories in the destroyed towns and villages, the enemy suffers considerable losses every day. They are not just one hundred killed, but the result is a destroyed settlement and a pile of corpses of Russian soldiers around it, who will not return home to their families," Voloshyn added.
He stressed that the Ukrainian military is controlling the situation in that area.
Suspilne notes that reports of the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrawing from their positions in Urozhayne appeared on 11 July, but the Khortytsya OSG denied the information at the time.
The settlement has been under occupation since March 2022. Ukrainian defence forces liberated the village of Urozhayne during the summer counter-offensive in the south of Donetsk Region in 2023. The liberation of Urozhayne was announced on 16 August.