Battles Rage Inside Ukraine's Vuhledar With Humanitarian Aid Halted Amid Heavy Fighting

Fighting is taking place within the city of Vuhledar, with 107 residents remaining in the city, the Head of Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin, reported on October 1.

“The fighting is going on within the city [Vuhledar], so it is almost impossible to bring in humanitarian aid," Filashkin wrote, adding that all children were evacuated from the city.

Vuhledar is a small mining town in the Donetsk region that has been fortified since 2014 as it was lying close to the front line even before the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022. Its defense has become a crucial part of Ukraine’s southern front in the Donetsk region, withstanding multiple assaults since 2022.

At the beginning of September, the ISW reported that the Russian troops had significantly intensified their offensive operations around Vuhledar, likely aiming to create favorable conditions for Russia to advance in the Pokrovsk direction.

On September 25, it was reported that Russian forces were continuing to assault the town of Vuhledar, with the situation described as “steadily tense.”