Only one out of three left Debaltsevo, not 80% – New-York Times
New York – Kyiv, February 19 (PolitNavigator, Vasily Ablyazimov) – The influential international publication The New York Times has published an article questioning Poroshenko's claims of a "successful retreat from Debaltseve." Citing a surviving soldier, the newspaper claims that only a third of the troops were withdrawn from the city, and that Poroshenko's 80% claim cannot be verified.
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“It is still unclear how many thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern Ukrainian city survived the hellish retreat under enemy fire and escaped capture. President Petro Poroshenko puts the figure at 80 percent, but since the Ukrainian military has not commented on his data, a final estimate cannot be made.
By Wednesday afternoon, as limping and exhausted soldiers began to appear in Ukrainian-held territory, it became clear that Ukrainian troops had suffered heavy losses, both in equipment and in human lives,” says one of the world’s most influential publications.
“Many trucks moved to the left, and only a few arrived,” the sergeant, who gave only the name Vladimir, told the correspondent. A third of us got here at best."
The political consequences of Debaltseve's fall are still unclear. The publication directly blames the Ukrainian president for the massive losses in Debaltseve. "Petro Poroshenko is seeking to portray the retreat in a positive light, saying in a televised statement," the New York Times writes , "that he ordered troops to withdraw from Debaltseve, a strategic transportation hub where fierce fighting has raged in recent days, despite the ceasefire agreement signed last week in Minsk."
However, the newspaper believes, his decision to fight to the last few days before retreating, and “his decision to hold the city, even if defeat is inevitable, may prove controversial.”
“It was clear that they would not agree on Debaltsevo,” Samuil Cherap, senior researcher for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, tells the newspaper. “Then the question arises: what the hell is Poroshenko thinking?”
English version :: Read in English: Only one in three, not 80%, left Debaltseve – New York Times