Luhansk Regional Governor Serhiy Hayday announced that Ukrainian soldiers will begin to withdraw from Severodonetsk city in eastern Ukraine after weeks of heavy bombardment and street clashes. Russia’s attacks had raised concerns that Ukrainian soldiers might be captured under siege.
Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian troops completely captured a town south of Lisichansk, located on the other bank of the Siverskyi Donets river, opposite Severodonetsk. Moscow claimed that up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers were besieged in the region.
The progress made by Russian soldiers signals that it is one step closer to Russian control of the entire Luhansk region. Lisichansk is expected to become the forefront of this front.
Ukrainian forces had been resisting Russian attacks in Severodonetsk for weeks, trying to buy time for heavy weapons to be supplied from the West.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Hayday announced that the soldiers in Severodonetsk would have to withdraw, and that they had received orders to advance to new positions.
“It doesn’t make sense to be in positions that have been destroyed for months just to stay there,” Hayday said in a statement on Ukrainian television.
The war, which started when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of Russian soldiers to cross the border and invade Ukraine, has completed its fourth month today.
“There is nowhere left to defend”
Some of the heaviest clashes of the war took place in Severodonetsk, where Russia was advancing with slow steps and where intense street fighting had taken place for the last month.
“Our forces had to be withdrawn tactically because there was nowhere left to defend. There was no city left to defend. We could not allow our forces to be surrounded,” said Kiev military expert Oleksander Musiyenko.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that Russia is trying to besiege Lisichansk and intensifying attacks in Severodonetsk to maintain full control. However, Ministry Spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzianik declined to comment on Luhansk Governor Hayday’s remarks regarding the withdrawal of troops.
Oleksiy Babchenko, mayor of the town of Hirske, 10 kilometers south of Lisichansk, reported that Russian soldiers have completely captured the town today.
The Russian Defense Ministry noted that 80 foreign fighters and 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers were besieged in Hirske.
Reuters news agency could not verify this claim from independent sources. The local government of Hirske also refused a request for comment on the siege.
In its statement today, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russia attacked Lisichansk, Severodonetsk and surrounding towns with tanks and artillery and carried out air strikes.
These reports have not been confirmed by independent sources.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine made a statement about possible territorial losses in the Donbas region.
Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, “Putin wanted to occupy Donbas on 9 May. Today is June 24 and we are still fighting. Withdrawing from a few battles does not mean the war is lost.”
Experts say the Russian forces suffered heavy losses and faced leadership, morale and supply problems. But Russian soldiers still continue to break through Ukrainian resistance and make gains in the east and south of the country.
Russia’s control of the Donbas region through pro-Russian separatists means that it maintains an uninterrupted connection with the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.