Nikolai Kozitsyn, the Cossack leader known by the nickname “Daddy”, made an unexpected return to the eastern Ukrainian frontlines yesterday. Widely assumed to have been withdrawn to Russia by his Kremlin handlers, Mr Kozitsyn was instead seen making victory loops in a military jeep around the desolate, wrecked streets of Debaltseve.

As of last night, the entire railway town had passed to the control of Russian-backed forces and only a handful of Ukrainian soldiers remain in the area following yesterday’s mass retreat.

With shelling continuing, Ukrainian officials feared the rebels could be preparing for a push into the key port town of Mariupol, about 120 miles south. The celebratory mood among rebel forces touring Debaltseve contrasted with a more tangled mix of relief, anger and mutiny among the Ukrainian troops who had managed to make the perilous 30-mile journey up the road to the next major town of Artemivsk.

The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko flew in on Wednesday evening to congratulate the men he described as “returning heroes”. Speaking earlier in the day, Mr Poroshenko had boasted of an “overwhelmingly successful” operation that had “demonstrated the strength of the Ukrainian army”, and “showed that there had been no siege to speak of”.

Such comments were met with derision from the soldiers of the 128th brigade.

Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Show all 11 1 /11 Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis An injured man hugs a woman as they sit in an ambulance after shelling in the main separatist stronghold of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Three civilians had been killed in shelling in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk, where Kiev's army is fighting pro-Russian separatists, AFP correspondents saw AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Local residents sit in a basement used as a shelter from artillery fire, in the settlement of Makiivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk. Artillery fire could be heard on Tuesday in Makiivka, on the eastern outskirts of the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Reuters reporters at the scene said REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Pro-Russian separatist troops run away from a burning car after Ukranian army shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine EPA/VALENTIN EGORSHIN Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Ukrainian soldiers park their hardware on roadside as they are waiting for the start of the march into the town of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. Heavy shelling hit a town of Novoazovsk in southeastern Ukraine on the third day of an assault that has forced government troops to spread their ranks thinner along the Russian border AP Photo/Sergei Grits Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis The body of a woman lies on the ground after a shelling in the main separatist stronghold Donetsk. Three bodies, identified by bystanders as members of the same family, were seen in a residential neighbourhood east of the city centre DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Ukrainian soldiers park their hardware on roadside as they are waiting for the start of the march in the town of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine AP Photo/Sergei Grits Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Armed pro-Russian separatists speak with local residents on a street in the settlement of Makiivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis A car burns after Ukranian army shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on the sidelines of a summit in Minsk that he wanted to find a compromise to end the bloodshed that includes the interests of the people in eastern Ukraine EPA/VALENTIN EGORSHIN Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis Local residents wait in a basement used as a shelter from artillery fire, in the settlement of Makiivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis An armed pro-Russian separatist checks papers of a local resident on a street in the settlement of Makiivka REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Ukraine crisis: Civilians targeted in Donetsk Ukraine crisis A paramedic assists an injured man after shelling in the main separatist stronghold of Donetsk. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for a new ceasefire in crisis talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as a controversial Russian convoy returned home DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images

“We conveyed him our thanks,” “Sanya”, a private from the brigade, told The Independent. “We thanked him for his siege denials, we thanked him for equipping us so well, we thanked him for the ceasefire, and we thanked him for sending us out like meat to a grinder.”

Soldiers seemed especially vexed at official military statements that only 13 soldiers had been killed and 157 wounded during the retreat. The number of dead was “clearly in the hundreds,” they said.

Officials at the local staging hospital refused to confirm numbers of those killed in action. It is likely that many remain behind enemy lines.

Volunteers working at the hospital confirmed that just under 200 wounded soldiers had passed through their doors, only a proportion of the injured, as those who are able to do so travel further to better facilities.

What is clear is that several of the small groups that broke through the encirclement suffered significant losses. Nikolai Gemon, an officer in the 128th brigade, said that only one of 12 vehicles in the column he led made it through.

Ukrainian soldiers repair the bullet-shattered windshield of their truck as their withdraw from the strategic town of Debaltseve (Getty Images) (Brendan Hoffman | Getty Images)

The convoy fell under significant shelling, he said, and many of the men were forced to abandon their vehicles and make their way back by foot.

Mr Gemon also said that three Kamaz trucks had got lost on the way back, and fallen into separatist checkpoints.

“They were travelling too far behind, didn’t see the others turn off, and they went straight on,” he says.

Each truck usually carries up to 30 soldiers, and as of last night, their fate was unknown.

Many soldiers scoff at the idea that this was a well-organised operation.

Sergei Mykulaichuk, a private from the 51st brigade, was based in Chornukhine, a village located to the east of Debaltseve. He says that Ukrainian forces there were surrounded significantly earlier than those in Debaltseve, from the end of January onwards.

His unit was one of the last to make its way back, making the 14-hour journey over minefields to Artemivsk.

“We had no proper maps, let alone GPS navigation. We simply followed the direction of the moon,” says Mr Mykulaichuk.

Ukrainian troops arrive near Artemivsk after leaving the town of Debaltseve (Getty Images) (ANATOLII STEPANOV | AFP | Getty Images)

The Independent learned that as of midday yesterday perhaps 60 Ukrainian soldiers remained encircled in Chornukhine, awaiting orders to retreat.

One evacuated soldier said he could not understand why his comrades had been abandoned to their fate.

The neighbouring Artemivsk has taken on a new military hue over recent days, as the thousands of returning soldiers readjust to civilian life. By last night, one of the local restaurants had removed hard spirits from its menu.

The French and German Presidents, who oversaw all-night peace talks in Minsk last week, said that they were intent on salvaging the ceasefire deal, hoping that a truce would hold following the capture of Debaltseve.

Locals are less optimistic. Several stood in a huddle, consulting Ukrainian National Guard officers about their best course of action. They had become worried that war would reach them.