Russia closes in on key twin cities as Ukraine suffers eastern setback
Last edited Wed Jun 22, 2022, 08:09 PM - Edit history (1)
Russia appears to have dealt Ukraine a significant setback in the battle for the country’s east, breaking through the defenses around a key city and opening the possibility that Kyiv’s troops in the area could be surrounded.
In recent days, Russian forces have gained ground around Lysychansk, according to Ukrainian officials and Western military analysts, closing in on that city while fighting for full control of its battle-scarred twin, Sievierodonetsk.
The advance puts Russia in sight of capturing or surrounding the last two holdout cities in the Luhansk province, which together with the neighboring Donetsk form the eastern industrial region of the Donbas that has become the focal point of the war.
This phase of the conflict has been marked by brutal artillery exchanges, with Kyiv urging the United States and its Western allies to urgently send more of the heavy firepower it needs to counter Moscow’s forces.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-closes-in-on-key-twin-cities-as-ukraine-suffers-eastern-setback/ar-AAYKab3
Russia Gains in the East, Threatening to Overrun Luhansk
An earlier version of this article misstated the surname of the head of Kharkiv’s regional administration. He is Oleg Sun
DRUZHKIVKA, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces dug in for a last-ditch defense against Russian advances Wednesday in Luhansk Province, where the invaders now threaten to overrun two major cities that had resisted their halting progress.
The prospect of a Russian takeover of the embattled cities, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, left Ukrainian commanders with the stark choice to stay and fight, risking severed supply lines and the encirclement of thousands of defenders, or withdraw and forfeit the last major urban centers in Luhansk, part of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
For weeks, the Russians had been content to lay back and fire artillery and rockets on the Ukrainian forces before trying to push forward with tanks and troops. This strategy culminated in an apparent breakthrough Wednesday as the Russians seized three strategic villages, the regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, conceded.
From the villages — Mirna Dolina, Podlisne and Toshkivka — the Russian troops have gained higher ground to fire on Lysychansk, including with shorter-range artillery.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-gains-in-the-east-threatening-to-overrun-luhansk/ar-AAYKyUl
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