Russian forces closed in on Ukrainian troops in the east of the country, briefly occupying positions on the last highway towards two crucial Ukrainian-held cities, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday.
Three months after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has abandoned its attack on the capital Kiev and is trying to consolidate control of the eastern industrial region of Donbass, where it has supported separatists since 2014.
Thousands of soldiers carry out attacks from three sides in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk. Should the two cities along the Siverskiy Donets River fall, almost the entire Donbass Luhansk province would be under Russian control.
“Russia has the upper hand, but we are doing everything we can,” said General Oleksiy Gromov, deputy head of the Ukrainian General Staff’s operations department.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said about 50 Russian soldiers had arrived on the highway and “managed to take hold”, even establishing a checkpoint.
“The checkpoint was broken, they were sent back. the Russian army does not control the route now, but they are bombing,” he said. It is possible that Ukrainian troops will leave “one settlement, maybe two. We need to win the war, not the battle,” he declared.
“It’s clear that our guys are slowly retreating to more fortified positions – we need to contain this horde,” Gaidai added.
Western military analysts see the battle for the two cities as a potential turning point in the war now that Russia has redefined its main objective of capturing the east.
Source: CNN Brasil
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