Russian forces have reached the borders of the city of Lyshchansk, in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine, but were pushed back by Ukrainian troops, the general staff in Kiev said yesterday (Thursday).
"Our soldiers stopped the [RUSSIAN] attack in the direction of the southern suburbs of Lyshchansk, managed to inflict losses on the enemy and forced him to retreat," according to Ukrainian generals, who said Russian forces were mobilising reserves to continue the offensive.
A Russian attack near the community of Borivske, east of the Donets River, was also repelled, according to the Ukrainian general staff. This is the river that separates Lysychansk from the twin city of Severodonetsk.
The loss of the two cities would be a heavy blow to the Ukrainian side in the hostilities in the eastern part of the country. As the war turns four months old today, Moscow is advancing, slowly but surely, in this region.
Earlier yesterday, the Ukrainian general staff acknowledged that its forces were surrounded in the villages of Zolote and Khirske, south of Lysychansk.
In the direction of Severodonetsk "the enemy captured the communities of Loskutivka and Rai-Olexandrivka," he said via Facebook.
Ukrainian units have a 4-kilometer-wide tunnel to withdraw from the camp of mine workers in Zolote. Some units withdrew "possibly to avoid encirclement", the British Ministry of Defence said on Twitter.
[/P]According to pro-Russian separatists, the village is already controlled by Russian troops.
According to Radion Miroshnik, a pro-Russian separatist spokesman in Moscow, Russian forces have already cut off the last road from Lyshchansk to the west and at least 5,000 Ukrainian troops are now surrounded.
Fierce fighting is raging south of Severodonetsk, most of which has been taken over by the Russians.
According to the British Ministry of Defence, the advance of Russian forces is attributed to "recent reinforcements of their units" and "concentrated fire".
It is "highly likely" that they advanced more than 5km towards the southern suburbs of Lyshchansk, it added.
Always according to London, despite pressure from Russian troops in the area around Severodonetsk and Lyshchansk, efforts to encircle Ukrainian forces and take the western part of the Daniyetsk region "remain unfinished."
Source: Cyprus Times
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