On Saturday, Russian-backed forces intensified their attack on Lysychansk, a city in Ukraine, claiming to have “completely” encircled the final holdout in the Luhansk region.
The entire territory of Luhansk, which together with Donetsk constitutes the eastern Donbas region, might come under Russian control if Lysychansk falls, signifying another tactical victory for Vladimir Putin.
The Luhansk Popular Militia and Russian troops today took the remaining key heights, allowing us to affirm that Lysychansk is entirely encircled, according to Andrei Marotchko, a spokesperson for the forces supported by Russia.
Although the situation in Lysychansk has been the most challenging of all the fronts, the city itself is not surrounded and is in Ukrainian control, according to Ukrainian TV’s interview with Ruslan Muzychuk, spokesperson for the national guard of Ukraine.
Lysychansk became the next focus of warfare in eastern Ukraine after its twin city, Sievierodonetsk, was reduced to ruins last week. It has been continuously targeted by Russian airstrikes and artillery for weeks.
On Saturday, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, posted on the Telegram messaging app, saying, “Private houses in attacked villages are burning down one by one.” “With such a high density of shelling, we only have time to shelter the injured. Fires simultaneously in several places. We barely have time to eliminate large-scale fires in Lysychansk .”
