Russian forces intensify their offensive against Severodonetsk, the largest battlefield in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
According to CNN, the U.S. Army’s General Staff, on the 30th (local time), referring to the war situation in Luhansk and Donetsk, the Donbas region, Russian airstrikes and shelling continued in Lisichansk and Soledar.
Lisichansk is a city in the Luhansk Oblast, and there are speculations that if Russia occupied it, it could take over the whole of Luhansk. Soledar is a city in Donetsk Oblast, and if it were captured by Russian forces, Lisichansk and Severodonetsk could be besieged.
In particular, Severodonetsk is considered a key strategic location that Russia must occupy in order to seize the Luhansk region. Luhansk Governor Serhi Haidai said on the 30th that Russian troops advanced into the city center of Severodonetsk and are currently in a difficult situation.
The Ukrainian military said fighting continued in the city of Komyshvaka, southwest of Severodonetsk. When CNN released the video, it was reported that a Chechen unit, notorious for torture and executions, was involved in the attack on Komyshwaka.
The commander of the Chechen unit claimed that “the area is now under our control and we will attack all fronts”, claiming the capture of Komyshwaka.
On the southern front, the Ukrainian army seems to be doing well. The Ukrainian army claimed that it was “in a panic as the enemy suffered losses and withdrew from Kherson and Mykolayu”.
Mykolayu is the base through which the Russian army must go in order to occupy the port city of Odessa. Kherson is also a transportation hub to major cities such as Odessa and Mykolayu, and is evaluated as a strategic point that the Russian army in the Crimea (Krum) must occupy in order to advance north.
(Seoul = News 1)
