- Russian forces are advancing east, changing momentum
- The EU is looking at an agreement to ban oil supplies from Russia
Kyiv, May 28 (Reuters) – Russia said its forces were in full control of the Ukrainian city of Lyman, a railway junction in the Donetsk region, on Saturday, which will help pave the way for the next phase of the Kremlin’s offensive in eastern Donbass.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for Lyman for several days. The city is located 40 km (30 miles) west of Severodonetsk, the largest city in the Donbass, still held by Ukraine but now under heavy attack from Russian forces.
The governor of the Luhansk region, which together with Donetsk makes up Donbass, said on Friday that Russian troops had entered Severodonetsk, the center of Russia’s main offensive.
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Russia’s gains show a shift in momentum in the war.
Although the forces that invaded Ukraine on February 24 failed to capture the capital Kyiv in the early stages of the conflict, they are making slow but steady progress in Donbass, much of which was already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists before the war.
Tactics include massive artillery bombardment and air strikes that devastate cities and towns.
“If Russia succeeds in capturing these areas, it is very likely that the Kremlin will see it as a significant political achievement and present it to the Russian people as justifying the invasion,” the British Defense Ministry said in a daily intelligence report Saturday. .
A British report says Russian forces “probably” took over most of the Lyman, and the Russian Defense Ministry said later Saturday that it had taken full control of the city. Read more
Russia also said on Saturday that it had used missile strikes to destroy Ukrainian command posts in Bakhmut and Soledar. Both cities are located on an important road passing southwest of Lisichansk and Severodonetsk.
The estuary is a railway junction, as well as a gateway to railway and road bridges over the Seversky Donets River.
The British briefing said the bridgehead near Lyman would give Russia an advantage in the potential next phase of the Donbass offensive. According to him, Russian forces will probably try to cross the river in the coming days.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had repulsed eight attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk in the previous 24 hours. Russia’s attacks include “unsuccessful” artillery attacks in the Severodonetsk region, the statement said.
DESTROYED BUILDINGS
Luhansk Governor Sergei Gaidai said on Friday that Ukrainian forces may have to withdraw from Severodonetsk, on the east side of the river, to avoid capture once Russian troops enter.
About 90% of buildings in Severodonetsk were damaged, he said, with 14 high-rise buildings destroyed in the latest shelling. Several dozen medical personnel remain in Severodonetsk, but are struggling to reach hospitals because of the shelling, he said.
Reuters could not independently verify the information.
President Vladimir Zelensky remained challenging in his nightly address to Ukrainians.
“If the occupiers think that Lyman and Severodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong. “Donbass will be Ukrainian,” Zelensky said.
Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for War Studies said that while Russian forces had launched direct attacks on the built-up areas of Severodonetsk, they were likely to fight for positions in the city itself.
“Russian forces have performed poorly in built-up operations throughout the war,” they said.
Russia says it is conducting a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine and free it from nationalists who threaten Russian-speakers there. Kyiv and Western countries say Russia’s claims are a false pretext for war.
Thousands of people, including many civilians, were killed and several million fled their homes during the war. Russia’s destruction of entire urban areas has sparked widespread international condemnation, although Moscow denies attacking civilians.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not deterred by a wide range of Western sanctions against Russia, nor by earlier failures on the battlefield.
MASLONA DILEMMA
Russian troops came after breaking through Ukrainian lines in the town of Popasna, south of Severodonetsk, last week and capturing several nearby villages.
Russia’s eastern success follows the withdrawal of its forces from the approaches to Kyiv and the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which pushes its forces out of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Saturday that numerous Russian strikes had affected nearby communities and infrastructure near Kharkiv.
In the south, where Moscow has taken over part of the territory since the invasion, including the port of Mariupol, Ukrainian authorities say Russia aims to impose permanent rule.
At the diplomatic front, representatives of the European Union said that a deal could be reached by Sunday to ban the supply of Russian oil by sea, which represents about 75% of the block’s supplies, but not by pipeline. Read more
Zelenski criticized the EU for delaying such a ban. But his country is also receiving a steady supply of weapons from allies. In the latest such delivery, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said on Saturday that Ukraine had begun receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States. Read more
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Reports by Natalia Zinets, Conor Humphreys, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Vitaly Hnidi in Kharkov and Reuters journalists in Popasna Writing by Robert Birsel and Angus McSwon Edited by William Mallard and Francis Carey
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