Ukrainian forces have partially retreated from the city of Sievierodonetsk, now 70% controlled by Russian troops, to settle in “more lucrative positions”, the governor of the Luhansk region, Sergei Gaïdaï, announced on Wednesday.
Another part of the Ukrainian army continues to be the same to fight within the citywhile the twin town of Lyssytchansk, separated from Sievierodonetsk by the Donets River, remains completely under Ukrainian control he assured the Telegram.
The mayor of Sievierodonetsk, Alexander Striouk, gave a similar estimate, telling Reuters that the Russian army occupies 60% of the city, against 20% for the Ukrainian army, the rest is a buffer zone or a no human land separation of the warring.
” The 20% [restants] is strictly defended by our armed forces. Our troops hold the defensive lines. Attempts were made to push back the Russian troops. We hope that, in spite of everything, we liberate the city. “
Mayor Striouk reiterated that the 12,000 to 13,000 residents left in the city, which was almost completely destroyed by the Russian offensive, are facing continuous shelling at street fights. They live without electricity and lack water, food and medicine.
The evacuation of civilians was delayed on Monday when a convoy used for this purpose was hit by a Russian strike in Lysytchansk, killing a French journalist. The last link between Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk is a bridge of the T1302 highway, nicknamed the way of life of the Ukrainian authorities.
Governor Gaïdaï seems to be expecting the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Sievierodonetsk to Lyssytchansk, in the west. The two towns are the last in the Luhansk region not to be fully under Russian control.
” If the Russians take control of Sievierodonetsk for two to three days, they will begin to install artillery and mortars and bomb Lysychansk more intensely. “
If the Russian army takes control of the twin cities, it will find itself in a position to launch an attack on parts of the Donetsk region that are still missing here, and especially on the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
A good strategic move by Kyiv, says the think tank
Conquest of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions has been a strategic priority of the Kremlin since Russian troops were forced to abandon their offensive in the capital, kyiv. The Russian army was recently pushed back into the Kharkiv region, the scene of the Ukrainian army’s successful counter-offensive.
Despite the possible collapse of Sievierodonetsk, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington -based think tank, believes kyiv has made a wise choice in not throwing more of its forces into combat. for city control.
Decisions not to allocate more resources to saving Sievierodonestk and the decision to leave it are strategically good, if painful. he wrote in his latest daily bulletin.
Ukraine should manage its more limited resources and focus on the recovery of valuable territory rather than defending territory whose control does not determine the outcome of the war or the conditions for the renewal of the war. According to the ISW, this is exactly what kyiv is doing by conducting a new counter-offensive in the Kherson region, the only one where Russian troops have set foot on the west side of the Dnieper River.
If this situation continues when the fighting stops, Russia will find itself in a very favorable position in the event of a continuation of the battle. Otherwise, Ukraine will have a more advantageous position to defend itself.
Of the troops assigned to Crimea, the Russian army quickly captured the Kherson region at the start of the fighting, but the Ukrainian army claimed earlier this week was advancing towards the villages of Andriyivka, Lozove and Bilohirka.
The governor of the neighboring Mykolaiv region, Vitaliy Kim, told the Telegram on Wednesday that Russian troops were retreating and blowing up bridges to prevent a possible Ukrainian advance. They fear a counter-attack by the Ukrainian army he said, without specifying where this withdrawal was taking place, which was not confirmed by the Russian Defense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated in his last speech that there was some success in the Kherson region for Ukraine, but without providing further details.
Source: Radio-Canada
