“There will be a second Slavyansk here”: the defenders of Lisichansk are preparing for encirclement

Moscow - Kyiv, June 27 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - One of the commanders of the Lugansk militia, Alexey Mozgovoy, told the special correspondent of the Communist Party of Ukraine that the National Guard of Ukraine is trying to cut off Lugansk from the border with Russia, and that so far only the river is preventing this. According to him, Ukrainian troops used the truce to surround Lysichansk; the city’s defenders do not have enough resources. “There will be a second Slavyansk here.” - says Mozgovoy.

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“The border runs along the Seversky Donets River,” Mozgovoy runs his finger along the map. – Dill are from the northern shore, we are from the southern one. If they manage to transfer large forces to this coast, they will be able to cut off Lugansk from the border with Russia. And then take it into the ring. If it weren't for the river, they would have done it long ago. The National Guard tried to capture the Tomashevsky Bridge, there were serious battles, and we had to blow up the bridge. The river helps us a lot. By the way, the situation was approximately the same in 42-43. Only here, in our positions, were the fascists then. And now it’s the other way around.”

To the west of Lisichansk, about 70 kilometers, is besieged Slavyansk. It is also just south of the river, blocking the path deeper into the neighboring Donetsk Republic. Lisichansk has almost the same position, only in the Luhansk region, writes a KP correspondent. According to Mozgovoy, this city may also fall under blockade: taking advantage of the truce, the National Guard has greatly strengthened the group in this area.

“We had a clear road to Slavyansk, and humanitarian supplies went along it. And now Kyiv troops have appeared there - here you have a truce,” says Mozgovoy.
In the words of the “Ghost” fighters one can feel a calm but tense expectation, writes KP. They understand that at any moment positional clashes can escalate into full-scale battles and blockades. But, according to Alexei Mozgovoy, there are not enough people in the battalion for such a war.

“There will be a second Slavyansk here,” says Alexey Mozgovoy. “We understand this and are preparing.” But we also understand that half-measures like a temporary ceasefire only make things worse.”