Tomorrow marks the fourth month of the invasion of Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has described as a “special military operation”.
Russia’s war on Ukraine caused thousands of deaths, millions of people to leave their places of residence, many cities to be turned into rubble, and global food and energy exports to be interrupted.
After the attacks on the capital, Kiev, were blocked by the Ukrainian insurgents in the first phase of the war, Russia continues to focus on seizing the regions in the south and east of Ukraine.
The most critical points of Russia’s war of attrition in Donbas, known as the heart of Ukraine’s industry, are the twin cities of Severodonetks and Lisichansk, on both sides of the Siverskyi Donets river in Luhansk.
Oleksiy Arerestovic, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the war in these two cities was “advancing to a frightening climax”.
“Ukraine may withdraw from the Lisichansk front against the risk of encirclement”
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Hayday said that after Russian forces captured two villages in the south, Ukrainian soldiers could withdraw from the Lisichansk front to avoid the risk of being surrounded by the Russians.
The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in Luhansk from the last two cities remaining in Kiev’s hands, Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, will bring Moscow one step closer to its goal of taking control of all of Luhansk.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that the villages of Rai-Oleksandrivka and Loskutivka, 5 kilometers from Lisichansk, had fallen, and reported that Russian soldiers are trying to encircle the Ukrainian forces in the area.
Governor Hayday said in a statement on national television, “To avoid the risk of siege, our command may order the soldiers to withdraw to their new positions. All of Lisichansk is in the line of fire. It is a very dangerous situation for the city.”
The Ukrainian military refrains from commenting on its military strategy. But Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeri Zaluzhny admitted that Ukraine had to make some changes in its defence.
In a statement without specifying the name of the place, Zalujni said, “We were forced to make mobile defense in order to seize more advantageous lines and positions. The price of freedom is high.”
Supply routes still open
Governor Hayday said that the fact that it is still possible to reach Lisichansk by road allows the evacuation of civilians to continue. Russian TASS news agency, on the other hand, previously reported that the separatists supported by Russia claimed that Lisichansk was besieged and the supply routes of the city were cut off.
In other news, a senior Ukrainian defense official said his troops continued to resist in a part of the mostly Russian-controlled Severodonetks.
General Oleksiy Gromov from the Ukrainian General Staff said that despite the damage to the supply routes, the soldiers at this point can still receive weapons and ammunition and continue to evacuate the wounded.
In a statement made by the British Ministry of Defense today, it was reported that the latest attacks of Russia increased the pressure on the Ukrainian forces trying to hold the Lisichansk-Severodonetks line.