Ukrainian forces are moving closer to Kreminna, a heavily defended city in the east of the country that could help Ukraine recapture a key region.
Current area almost completely occupied by Russia.
The operation to recapture the Kreminna, in the Luhansk region of Ukraine began in the autumn, around the time that their forces take back the city of Lyman, in the neighboring Donetsk region, and pushed Russian forces east to their country’s borders. The two regions, which make up the region known as the Donbas, are home to Russia-backed self-proclaimed breakaway republics and were among four that were illegally annexed by Russia in September.
Over the past few months, there has been a spate of fighting and artillery fire on the highways and small settlements around Kreminna and further to the northwest, in the city of Svatove. Russian forces took over both at the beginning of their 10-month invasion of Ukraine.
The recapture of two cities and a third city, Starobilsk, could allow Ukrainian forces to continue advancing towards the Russian border and regain more territory already captured by Moscow. It would also give Ukraine control of a road triangle provides access to two larger cities in the south, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, fell in Russia in the summer.
On Tuesday, Serhiy Haidai, governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, said in a post on the messaging app Telegram: “The Russians understand that if they lose the Kreminna, their entire defenses will ‘fall’. .”
A day earlier, Haidai said, under military pressure, a part of the Russian command in the city had withdrawn to the town of Rubizhne, a few miles southeast, although this claim could not be verified. .
In his nightly address on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said of the war zones: “The occupiers are using all the resources available to them – and these are important resources. important – to make at least some progress.”
There was no independent confirmation of the battlefield developments, but Vitaly Kiselyov, a senior official in the Russian-backed breakaway republic of Luhansk, said on Russian state television on Monday that the situation was surrounding Kreminna and Svatove remain “very tense”.
Fighting continued in some of those areas on Tuesday. In the area south of Kherson, a Russian artillery attack damaged critical infrastructure, a kindergarten and a medical emergency station, although no casualties were reported. , regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said. wrote on Telegram.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have built a series of defensive fence near Kreminna and other parts of Ukraine’s jagged front lines. They have also cut off pontoon bridges over the River Siversky Donets running through northern Luhansk, the province’s military junta said on Telegram on Monday.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said that after losing city of kherson and suffering other territorial setbacks, Russia is rallying its forces north of Luhansk for an offensive aimed at expanding its control over the region and then potentially into the province. Kharkiv.
To that end, the institute said, Russia is prioritizing mobilizing troops to defend Kreminna and Svatove over operations in other Donbas regions. The institute cited Ukrainian military reports of increased Russian transfers of troops, military equipment and ammunition in the region.
However, it said short-term Russian success seemed unlikely given the difficult terrain and “very limited” offensive capabilities of Moscow’s forces.
