A senior Ukrainian official on Tuesday confirmed the fall of the village of Tochkivka, where the front line south of Lysychansk and Sievierodonestk, the last two major towns in the Luhansk region that are not fully controlled by the Russian army, were located. .
According to our information, the Russians fully control Tochkivkathe head of the Sievierodonetsk district, Roman Vlasenko, told Ukrainian television, indicating that the pressure persists on the front line where the battle of Donbass is in full swing.
On Monday, pro-Russian separatists who fight alongside Russian troops announced the conquest of the village, but the governor of the Luhansk region, Sergei Gaidai, refused to confirm the news, even though he admitted that the Russian attack had had some success.
Tochkivka is on the west bank of the Donets, the river that separates the twin towns of Lyssytchank and Sievierodonestk. Its conquest allows the Russian soldiers to consider a push towards Lyssytchansk, located a few kilometers to the north.
If Sievierodonetsk were to fall, it would be difficult for the Russian army to launch a ground offensive for Lysychansk; this would involve her building bridges to cross the Donets, making the troops vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks. The three bridges between Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk were destroyed.
” The entire Luhansk region is now the epicenter of the confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian armies. “
Heavy bombardments are still ongoing in the region, as well as street fights in Sievierodonetsk, where fighting rages around the industrial areain the area of the Azot chemical plant, also said Mr. Vlasenko.
Fighting (ongoing) in the industrial zone of Sievierodonetsk and catastrophic destruction in Lysychanskalso indicated Mr. Gaïdaï on Telegram, estimating that the last 24 hours have been difficult for the Ukrainian forces.
Earlier, Mr. Gaïdaï had declared on Ukrainian television that 568 people, including 38 children – mainly factory employees and their families, according to him – were now refugees inside the Azot factory.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
