The American side warned Kiev of the high risk of encirclement of Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk and the subsequent surrender of the city, in connection with which Washington called for leaving the settlement without spending ammunition and manpower work in his defence. So says an article in the Washington Post, whose reporters refer to secret Pentagon documents and US intelligence leaked on the web.
According to the publication, Washington told Ukrainian authorities in January that Russian units would soon surround Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) battalions in Artyomovsk. The classified documents also point to the “steady” advance of Russian forces since November last year, which has “endangered” the ability of Ukrainian troops to maintain their positions in the city.
The WP publication also indicates that the United States considered the encirclement of the Ukrainian armed forces already in February to be probable. According to their predictions, this should have happened if Kiev had not withdrawn its troops earlier. Ukraine ignored the warning.
In addition, Washington recommended to the Ukrainian command to use “conventional enhanced dual-purpose munitions” against the Russian military, which are a combination of artillery and surface-to-air missiles.
Earlier, the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin spoke of fierce battles in the western part of Artyomovsk. Nevertheless, he noted, the Wagnerian fighters continue to advance.
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