In the "Uspenivka pocket", dozens of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers went missing, - media

In the "Uspenivka pocket", dozens of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers went missing, - media

Dozens of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers went missing in the "Uspenivka Pocket," located south of Kurakhove. Journalists from Suspilne spoke with the families of the soldiers who lost contact after the pocket was eliminated by the Russians at the end of December.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces were holding a position that was under fire from all sides. "I called the command, asked if they could search for our troops. But I was told that it was not possible to send evacuation groups or heavy equipment there," says Nataliya, the sister of one of the missing soldiers (her brother Artem was in the village of Trudove at the time).

"The commander initially said that during the rotation, shelling began, and it’s unknown where our troops went. Then the story changed: allegedly, they left without orders, having informed about it, and were accompanied by a drone. 20-30 minutes after their departure, drones attacked them," the woman says.

Later, the military told her that her brother’s group consisted of four soldiers. They were left without food and water for a week and were forced to leave in the dark without orders because, according to them, there was simply no rotation. After that, they vanished.

Nataliya found 30 more families whose relatives also disappeared in the "pocket." They have filed reports with the State Bureau of Investigation and are awaiting a response from the authorities.

Another soldier, Mykyta, went missing on December 19, during his first outing to the "zero line." Another young man, Ivan, along with four fighters from his squad, are also considered missing. Relatives complain that officially nothing is known about the fate of their loved ones.