“This is the last victory for Russia on Ukrainian territory,” Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video message distributed on the Internet. A counter-offensive in the south of the country is possible.
The capture of the cities of Lysychansk and Sieverodonetsk means that 60 percent of Russia’s forces are tied up in the east and it will be difficult for Russia to move them south, Arestovych said. In addition, the Russian armed forces had suffered heavy losses. “And there are no more forces that can be brought in from Russia. They paid a high price for Sievarodonetsk and Lysychansk,” he said. However, a successful counterattack on Russian positions in the south also depends on the promised Western arms deliveries, which are intended to significantly increase the effectiveness of the Ukrainian armed forces. “It depends on how quickly the supplies come,” explained Arestovych.
experts with a similar assessment
The assessment of British experts is similar. The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Lysychansk should therefore make it easier for Ukraine to defend its positions. The withdrawal was largely orderly, according to the daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war from the Ministry of Defense in London on Tuesday. “The Ukrainian-held areas of the twin cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk consisted of a bulge that could be attacked by the Russians from three sides,” the statement said. There is a realistic possibility that Ukrainian forces will now retreat to a more defensible, straight front line.
According to British experts, the recent advances made by the Russian invading forces are the result of “reasonably effective coordination” between different groups of the Russian armed forces. Nevertheless, they assume that the war will continue to be tough. “The Battle of Donbass has so far been marked by slow progress and massive Russian use of artillery, razing villages and towns,” the statement said. It is very likely that the battle for the Donetsk region will proceed in the same way.
Reconstruction should start quickly
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called for the country to start rebuilding quickly and not wait for the Russian war of aggression to end. In the areas alone from which Russian troops have been driven out, there are tens of thousands of destroyed houses. Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Monday that Ukraine must start preparing for the winter, among other things, to secure the energy supply. Large parts of the economy have been paralyzed by fighting and Russian attacks. Thousands of companies are at a standstill. At the same time, reconstruction must be about more than just putting up walls that have been destroyed: “Ukraine must become the freest, most modern and safest country in Europe.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, air alerts were raised again across most of Ukraine. Rocket and grenade fire was reported from the north-eastern Sumy region, injuring several people. Russian rockets landed in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine early in the morning. This was reported by the mayor Oleksandr Senkevych. Mykolayiv is on the main road between Kherson and Odessa. According to the local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, the cities of Slovjansk and Kramatorsk were also shelled in the night in the Donetsk region. “They are also the enemy’s main line of attack now,” he said. “In the Donetsk region there is no safe place without shelling.”
Fighting in Donetsk
In eastern Ukraine, after the Ukrainian retreat from Lysychansk, the focus of fighting shifted to the neighboring Donetsk region. On the border with the Luhansk region, Russian attacks were successfully repelled near Bilohorivka and Verkhnjokamyanske, the Ukrainian general staff said on Facebook. The Wuhlehirsk thermal power plant to the west of Svitlodarsk, which has already been conquered by pro-Russian separatists, is also contested.
On the other hand, the Russian troops had gained territory north of Slowjansk near Masanivka. In addition, Ukrainian positions on large parts of the front were shelled with artillery, rocket launchers and mortars. The Russian air force also bombed positions of Ukrainian units.
Russia, meanwhile, is stepping up efforts to cement its control over occupied Ukrainian territories. In the southern region of Cherson, for example, after the introduction of the ruble as a currency and the issuing of Russian passports, administrative structures based on the Russian model are to be set up. The goal is integration into the Russian Federation, stressed the deputy head of the Russian military administration, Kirill Stremousov, on the Telegram news service. On Tuesday, a new regional government should start work.
Source: Nachrichten
