AP: Capture of Vuhledar is result of US refusal to allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia

Russia’s takeover of the Donetsk regional town of Vuhledar is a direct consequence of the United States’ refusal to allow Ukraine to conduct strikes within Russian territory, the Associated Press reports, citing military officials and analysts.

The fall of Vuhledar, which had a pre-invasion population of 15,000, symbolizes Kyiv’s current situation at this stage of nearly three years of all-out war. 

“It reflects the U.S.’s refusal to grant Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, preventing Kyiv from degrading Moscow’s capabilities,” AP wrote.

At the same time, air superiority allows Russia to deploy powerful cruise bombs against which Ukraine has no effective defense, the news agency added.

The seizure of Vuhledar highlights the serious challenges facing Kyiv ahead of the third winter of the full-scale war. Ukrainian forces have faced setbacks not due to ineffective strategies, but because of the overwhelming force used by the Russians, CNN reports.

“While not a transport and logistics hub like Pokrovsk, Vuhledar was heavily fortified and viewed as a crucial bastion at the intersection of Ukraine’s eastern and southern fronts,” the news dispatch said.

The imminent threat of being completely surrounded forced the remaining Ukrainian units in the town to withdraw, the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of the Ukrainian defense forces reported on Oct. 2.

“The high command authorized a maneuver to withdraw units from Vuhledar in order to preserve personnel and military equipment and to take up a position for further operations,” the Ukrainian military said.