Ukrainian Armed Forces defeat large column of Russian troops near Vuhledar - Ukraine's Security Service Colonel Kostenko

He shared his opinions on Espreso TV’s Verdict with Serhiy Rudenko.

"The frontline has become less mobile, Russians are pushing through our positions in some places due to large numbers. Russia lost a lot of manpower and equipment after the defeat near Vuhledar. The Ukrainian Armed Forces defeated a large convoy and destroyed a tank battalion of the Russian army. In the Donetsk direction, Russians were saving their equipment and using only personnel. Ukrainian intelligence did a good job. The guys who were on observation posts and detected the enemy did a good job. The intelligence detected the enemy's advance in time, and the reserves and artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were brought up in time," noted Kostenko.

According to the colonel, Russian troops stormed Vuhledar for a long time with personnel and a small amount of equipment.

"The enemy thought that with a large number of vehicles they could scare and push the Ukrainian Armed Forces out, but the enemy had little room for maneuvers. Russians were marching in a column because they could not walk across the field. The weather was bad and the field was mined. They had no operational space. The occupiers also had a task and deadline to capture Vuhledar. All these factors led to the defeat of the invaders near Vuhledar," explained Kostenko.

• The UK Ministry of Defense said that over the past 2 weeks, Russia had suffered the largest losses since the first week of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• Starting Monday, February 13, civilians and the press will be able to enter Bakhmut only with special passes.