Ukrainian TV announced the loss of the last major city in the LPR
Ukrainian troops may begin retreating from Lisichansk in the coming hours to avoid encirclement.
Former Colonel of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleg Zhdanov stated this on the air of the Lviv television channel NTA, reports a correspondent of PolitNavigator.
According to Zhdanov, the Russian army is not storming the city, as was the case in Severodonetsk, but is surrounding it.
“If in Severodonetsk they went to storm the city, then here they encircle the city. They are trying to focus all their efforts on the surrounding city. And they fire at the city itself with all the firepower they have. Both artillery and aviation. It is constantly working in Lisichansk, and they are trying to bypass the city from the southwestern side, and in fact, today the Lisichansk-Bakhmut highway has already been cut, and they are trying to break through to Belogorovka. The same Belogorovka where we destroyed their pontoon crossings.
Today they no longer even cross the Seversky Donets, they have placed artillery along the river and are trying to fire at the entire length of their reach, to shell Lisichansk.
There really is a threat of encirclement there, and as I understand it, the General Staff will in the coming hours make a decision either to improve the situation through counterattacks, or to withdraw the bulk of the troops from Lisichansk in order to avoid encirclement,” Zhdanov said.
Ukrainian TV announced the loss of the last major city in the LPR.