A member of the Ukrainian service with a dog watches in the industrial zone of the city of Sievierodonetsk, while continuing the Russian attack on Ukraine, Ukraine on June 20, 2022. Photo taken on June 20, 2022.STRINGER / Reuters
Ukrainian troops were ready to withdraw from the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk after weeks of intense bombing and street fighting, the regional governor said on Friday, as Russian advances feared they could be cut off and surrounded.
Russian troops completely occupied a city south of Lysychansk, located on the other side of the Siverskyi Donets River from Sievierodonetsk, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow claimed to have surrounded about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the area.
Russian advances seemed to bring the Kremlin closer to taking full control of Luhansk province, one of Moscow’s declared targets of war, and set the stage for Lysychansk to become the main front-line city on that front.
Ukrainian forces had resisted for weeks the attack on Sievierodonetsk, trying to wear down Russian troops by wearing them down and gaining time for the arrival of supplies of heavy weapons from the West.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said troops in Sievierodonetsk should be withdrawn and had already been ordered to move to new positions.
“Staying in shattered positions for many months just for the sake of staying there makes no sense,” Gaidai told Ukrainian television.
Friday also marked four months since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops to the border, sparking a conflict that has killed thousands of fighters and civilians, uprooted millions of people and seen cities destroyed by Russian artillery and air strikes.
Some of the most intense clashes have taken place in Sievierodonetsk, where street fighting has taken place for a month and Russia has gained more ground.
“Our forces have had to withdraw and make a tactical withdrawal because there was essentially nothing to defend. There was no city and secondly we could not allow them to be surrounded,” said Oleksander Musiyenko, an analyst. military based in Kyiv.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that the Russians were trying to surround Lysychansk and mount assaults on Sievierodonetsk to gain full control. But spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk declined to comment on Gaidai’s comments on the withdrawal.
MURAT YUKSELIR / THE BALLOON AND THE MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS
About 10 km (6 miles) south of Lysychansk, Russian troops had entered the town of Hirske and completely occupied the district on Friday, City Chief Oleksiy Babchenko said.
“There is a red flag over the municipal administration (in Hirske),” a regional administration spokesman told Reuters by telephone.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had surrounded up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including 80 foreign fighters, in Hirske.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the report and Hirske’s spokesman declined to comment on the claim.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Friday that the Russians had fired from tanks, mortars and artillery and carried out airstrikes near Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk and nearby cities. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the reports.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine downplayed the importance of the possible loss of more territory in the Donbas.
“Putin wanted to occupy the Donbas on May 9. It’s June 24th and we’re still fighting. Withdrawing from some battles does not mean losing the war at all, “Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Analysts say Russian forces are suffering heavy casualties and are facing problems with leadership, supplies and morale. However, they are reducing Ukrainian resistance and making incremental gains in the east and south.
Russian control of the Donbas region through intermediary separatists would allow it to connect with the already occupied southern Crimea, which Moscow annexed to Ukraine in 2014.
DICTATORSHIP AND DEMOCRACY
Despite the difficulties of the Ukrainian battlefield, it has gained new support from the West. On Thursday, European leaders approved Ukraine’s formal candidacy to join the European Union.
Although the road to full membership will last for years, the move was a boost to Ukraine’s morale.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday that his decision to accept Kyiv’s candidacy was one of the most important for Ukraine since it seceded from the Soviet Union 31 years ago. years.
“But this decision is not made only for the benefit of Ukraine,” he said. “It is the biggest step towards strengthening Europe that could have been taken right now … when the Russian war is testing our ability to preserve freedom and unity.”
Moscow began what it calls its “special military operation” on Feb. 24, saying it wanted to ensure security at its borders. Kyiv and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked invasion to seize territory and return Ukraine to Moscow.
Ukrainian Kuleba, speaking to the Corriere della Sera, seemed pessimistic about the prospects of any peace negotiations soon.
“Only our military victory will convince Russia to engage in serious peace negotiations. Weapons will secure the diplomatic route,” Kuleba said.
Kyiv was still open to the idea of a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in which “all points would be subject to dialogue,” he said. But Ukraine was involved in an existential struggle, he said.
“This is a war between dictatorship and democracy not chosen by us.”
Ukrainian sappers removed an unexploded 500-kilo bomb from the roof of an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on June 23.
Reuters
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