Ukrainian lawmaker claims country lost city of Vuhledar

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksii Honcahrenko claimed Tuesday that Ukrainian troops deserted the city of Vuhledar.

"We have lost a city that we have held for more than two years. What was our minister doing that day? It's a shame," he wrote on Telegram about defense chief Rustem Umerov.

"Today the Russians took Vuhledar ... Umerov must resign. Immediately," he added,

Russian media claimed earlier Tuesday that Ukrainian troops left their positions in central Vuhledar because they were unable to hold the defense in the city.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv, however, officially commented on the situation in the city, with Russia not claiming it took control of Vuhledar and Ukraine saying it lost it.

Independent verification of claims is challenging due to the war.