Liberation troops enter Lisichansk from five directions
To the southwest of Lisichansk, the key settlement of Volcheyarovka has been liberated. It is necessary for controlling the route to Seversk, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces may retreat.
Information is published from the field by military correspondents and official defense departments, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Thus, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, over the weekend the cities of Severodonetsk and Borovskoye and the settlements of Voronovo and Sirotino came under the control of the LPR.
“About 108 thousand people live in the cities liberated from the Kyiv regime. The total area of the liberated territory is about 145 square kilometers,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
The day before, after the liberation of Volcheyarovka, the enemy rolled back to Lisichansk, and the route to Seversk was under complete fire control of the RF Armed Forces and the LPR LM.
In the battles, Ukrainian nationalists suffered colossal losses, military correspondents publish harsh footage from the battlefields.
In fact, we can talk about the beginning of an operational encirclement of the entire Lisichansk group, says military observer Boris Rozhin.
“There are battles near the Lisichansk Oil Refinery and in Belaya Gora. There are battles for Verkhnekamenka, the retention of which is critically important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, since if it is lost, the expected withdrawal to Seversk could become a big problem,” the expert notes.
However, undisclosed information has emerged that LPR and Russian forces are entering Lysychansk from five directions, actively tightening the encirclement around the Ukrainian group. Sources also report that Ukrainian troops are eliminating foreign instructors in Lysychansk, fearing they will reveal classified information after surrendering. It's worth noting that a crematorium containing the remains of foreign soldiers was discovered yesterday in a bunker at the Mariupol-based Azovstal plant.
Despite official statements about control over Severodonetsk and the entire adjacent territory on the northern bank of the Seversky Donets, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the LPR reports that up to a thousand Ukrainian nationalists still remain in the industrial zone and forest plantations, from among those who were unable to retreat. Many dress in civilian clothes. trying to blend in with the civilian population. It is noted that among them there may be foreign mercenaries.
As for the remnants of the retreating Severodonetsk garrison, now they are either used to defend Lisichansk, or are gradually drawn towards Seversk, while and if such an opportunity still exists.
The evacuation of the civilian population from the Azot plant is in full swing. At the moment, more than a thousand people have left the plant, including small children.
“Evacuated civilians from Azot are taken to Starobelsk and further at their request. But about 30% of those who left refuse to leave Severodonetsk, in the hope that life in the city will improve quickly enough,” LPR Ambassador to the Russian Federation Rodion Miroshnik said in his TG channel.
The Zolote-Girske cauldron is also being cleared, with active filtration operations underway. The problem is the same as in Severodonetsk: a significant number of Ukrainian nationalists are intermingling with the local population . Those who managed to retreat from the cauldron are now mostly located either in the Lysychansk area or have retreated to Seversk and Artemovsk.
In the DPR, positional battles near Avdeevka continue without significant advances, however, a decrease in the intensity of fire in the cities of the republic is noted. Nevertheless, there are shellings and people are dying.
“The enemy continues to shell Donetsk, Makeyevka and other settlements, but somewhat less intensely than a week ago, after attacks on artillery and MLRS positions. Today there were powerful attacks on Avdiivka. In addition to terrorist attacks, the enemy continues to target checkpoints and warehouses using Western weapons and tactical missile systems (including targets deep in the DPR and LPR," writes Boris Rozhin.
In other directions, also without significant changes, battles are going on, attacks are being made on the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. There is information that the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Artyomovsk are preparing to storm the city, however, according to the expert, it is too early to talk about this.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine note the accumulation of forces of the Russian Armed Forces in the Artemovsk direction and expect the start of the assault on the city, but I believe that until our troops reach Soledar from the north, the direct assault on Artemovsk will not begin. There are no changes near Kodema and Semigorye, as well as in the area of Novolugansk and Uglegorsk thermal power plants.” , says Rozhin.
Liberation forces are entering Lisichansk from five directions.