https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68338550

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The BBC has spoken to Ukrainian soldiers who withdrew from Avdiivka. Their testimony paints a picture of unresponsive commanders who refused their troops' desperate pleas to retreat as they were encircled by Russian troops.

When the order finally came, they say, it was too late and and they were completely surrounded.

When the order to leave came, Ivan Zhyntyk, a paramedic, messaged his brother-in-law Dmitriy. "We were told to retreat and fight our way back. But behind us are [Russians]. I don't know what to do," he wrote.

Ivan called his commander to learn about evacuation. The voice on the radio told him to get out of Zenith on their own, as sending a rescue team was too risky.

"What about the wounded?" he asked. "Leave them behind," the voice instructed him.

"Everyone heard this conversation on radio and froze," Viktor recalls.

On 17 February, Col Gen Syrskyi ordered a full withdrawal from Avdiivka in order to "preserve the lives … of servicemen". But it was too late for many soldiers, including the six who surrendered.

"They were killed by the Russians," says Georgiy's mother, Inna Pavlova. "But our military leadership allowed it to happen."

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