Igor Girkin, who is particularly prominent in the Russian military information space, said it was a good thing that Vladimir Putin’s troops had hurriedly withdrawn from Izyum, even if it meant heavy losses of equipment and soldiers.

Girkin, also known as Strelkov, is a Russian army veteran and former FSB officer who played a key role in the annexation of Crimea and later Donbas, where he was the de facto leader of pro-Russian military forces.

His Telegram channel is one of the most popular in the Russian military information space, with more than 500,000 Russians on it.

What Girkin wrote in Telegram:

“According to some reports, our troops hastily left Izyum. If this is true (confirmed by several sources), then:

1). “It’s good that it is” – in conditions when, even yesterday, the last approach was under direct fire from the enemy and under the threat of its direct interception – to risk a complete encirclement and inevitable further defeat would be the height of adventurism, bordering on criminality.

2) A hasty retreat will inevitably result in heavy losses of equipment and supplies and, as a rule, casualties among the retreating troops.

3) All (military) reserves on the battlefield will be abandoned – that is, after leaving the position, our troops will experience an acute shortage of ammunition, fuel and lubricants and everything necessary, and therefore will not be able to immediately enter the battle.

4) Despite this, withdrawing the surrounded group is a strategically correct decision, despite all the associated losses. The saved units and connections – after reorganization and strengthening – will be able to fight again. But this does not remove the problems of those responsible for the encirclement and destruction.”