On July 3rd, the Russian army officially took control of Lysychansk, the last city in Luhansk Province still held by Ukraine. The capture of this strategic city means that the Russian forces can now advance south and west towards the Donetsk province, a major Ukrainian industrial hub.
On Sunday, Russia’s minister of defense Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian army had established “full control over the city of Lysychansk”. This statement was later confirmed as the Ukrainian troops withdrew from the city. Ukraine military posted on facebook “The continuation of the defense of [Lysychansk] would lead to fatal consequences. In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw.”
A few weeks prior to the final conquest, Russian forces setted up a siege around Lysychansk after capturing surrounding villages from the north, east and west. In the last couple of weeks, the Russian army carried out mass shelling followed by advancement of the artillery units. The intense battle saw both sides suffer heavy casualties. The Russians lost thousands of armored vehicles while the Ukraine casualties skyrocketed due to Russia’s mass bombardment with non-specific weapons.
After the combat settled down, a video was posted on Twitter last Sunday showing Russian soldiers holding their flags and chanting their slogan outside of Lysychansk City Hall, indicating their full control of the city.
Ukraine military officials believed the Russian forces will soon reinforce their casualty-degraded units before launching an attack towards Donetsk city Sloviansk. Russia would likely employ a similar strategy to build sieges before bombardment using their long-range artillery. Currently, the Ukraine troops that withdrew from Lysychansk last week are now setting up defenses along the border of Donetsk.
On Sunday, Russia’s minister of defense Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian army had established “full control over the city of Lysychansk”. This statement was later confirmed as the Ukrainian troops withdrew from the city. Ukraine military posted on facebook “The continuation of the defense of [Lysychansk] would lead to fatal consequences. In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw.”
A few weeks prior to the final conquest, Russian forces setted up a siege around Lysychansk after capturing surrounding villages from the north, east and west. In the last couple of weeks, the Russian army carried out mass shelling followed by advancement of the artillery units. The intense battle saw both sides suffer heavy casualties. The Russians lost thousands of armored vehicles while the Ukraine casualties skyrocketed due to Russia’s mass bombardment with non-specific weapons.
After the combat settled down, a video was posted on Twitter last Sunday showing Russian soldiers holding their flags and chanting their slogan outside of Lysychansk City Hall, indicating their full control of the city.
Ukraine military officials believed the Russian forces will soon reinforce their casualty-degraded units before launching an attack towards Donetsk city Sloviansk. Russia would likely employ a similar strategy to build sieges before bombardment using their long-range artillery. Currently, the Ukraine troops that withdrew from Lysychansk last week are now setting up defenses along the border of Donetsk.
