Ukrainian troops said on Sunday that they had withdrawn from the key eastern city
of Lysychansk, hours after the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu said he
captured it after a relentless artillery shelling.
“The continuation of the defense of the city would lead to fatal consequences,” he
said in a statement on Facebook. “In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian
defenders, a decision was made to withdraw.”
In his evening speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “people must be saved
above all else,” noting the development.
A video posted on Twitter on Sunday showed Russian soldiers driving in parts of
Lysychansk, past a small group of waving civilians, without resistance. Another
video showed Russian soldiers holding flags, including the flag of the Donetsk
People’s Republic, a separatist state in Ukraine. They took pictures in front of
Lysychansk City Hall and chanted slogans, “Lysychansik is ours.”
The capture of Ukraine’s key eastern city Lysychansk pushes the front line as
Russian troops reorganize before moving further south and west, guaranteeing that
the next phase of the war will be just as bloody as the last.
Russia now has virtually complete control of the Luhansk Province. In other
words, the Russian army can concentrate on Donetsk in the southwest. Russian backed separatists established individual territories in both provinces since 2014
and have been fighting Ukrainian troops since then.
These breakaway territories have provided supplies for the Russian army in the
country. Separatists have even provided fighters to support the Russian army and
helped hold captured cities in Ukraine’s east and south.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has had small victories in the eastern and southern cities of
Kharkiv and Kherson. However, Russia still has significant control of the regions.
The eastern city of Izium, which Russia has captured, will play a significant role in
capturing Donbas.
Those with military expertise believe that Russia will keep its focus on
reorganizing and refocusing its troops in order to occupy the southern town of
Berkmut, a strategic center for the Ukrainian army, allowing them to form a pocket
around industrial cities, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Its is believed that the next
offensive Russian attack will come from the direction of Popasna towards
Berkmut.
of Lysychansk, hours after the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu said he
captured it after a relentless artillery shelling.
“The continuation of the defense of the city would lead to fatal consequences,” he
said in a statement on Facebook. “In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian
defenders, a decision was made to withdraw.”
In his evening speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “people must be saved
above all else,” noting the development.
A video posted on Twitter on Sunday showed Russian soldiers driving in parts of
Lysychansk, past a small group of waving civilians, without resistance. Another
video showed Russian soldiers holding flags, including the flag of the Donetsk
People’s Republic, a separatist state in Ukraine. They took pictures in front of
Lysychansk City Hall and chanted slogans, “Lysychansik is ours.”
The capture of Ukraine’s key eastern city Lysychansk pushes the front line as
Russian troops reorganize before moving further south and west, guaranteeing that
the next phase of the war will be just as bloody as the last.
Russia now has virtually complete control of the Luhansk Province. In other
words, the Russian army can concentrate on Donetsk in the southwest. Russian backed separatists established individual territories in both provinces since 2014
and have been fighting Ukrainian troops since then.
These breakaway territories have provided supplies for the Russian army in the
country. Separatists have even provided fighters to support the Russian army and
helped hold captured cities in Ukraine’s east and south.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has had small victories in the eastern and southern cities of
Kharkiv and Kherson. However, Russia still has significant control of the regions.
The eastern city of Izium, which Russia has captured, will play a significant role in
capturing Donbas.
Those with military expertise believe that Russia will keep its focus on
reorganizing and refocusing its troops in order to occupy the southern town of
Berkmut, a strategic center for the Ukrainian army, allowing them to form a pocket
around industrial cities, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Its is believed that the next
offensive Russian attack will come from the direction of Popasna towards
Berkmut.
