Sievierodonetsk Falls, Russian Control Expands in Luhansk Province
In a video that was circulated by Ukrainian troops and several pro-government militia groups, Ukrainian troops were seen relying on rifles and grenade launchers to retaliate against the Russians.
By
HARRY SUSILO AND KRIS MADA FROM UKRAINE
·5 minutes read
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Debris hangs from a residential building heavily damaged in a Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, May 28, 2022. Fighting has raged around Lysychansk and neighbouring Sievierodonetsk, the last major cities under Ukrainian control in Luhansk region.
KYIV, KOMPAS — Russia’s control over the eastern region of Ukraine has expanded with the fall of the city of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk province into Russian hands following a long battle. Russia's next target is nearby Lysychansk.
The withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the last sector of Sievierodonetsk was announced by the Luhansk martial law authority’s head, Sergei Gaidai.
"We have to withdraw our troops from Sievierodonetsk because it doesn’t make sense to remain there. The death toll continues to grow every day," he said in a written statement on Friday (6/24/2022).
He said the decision had been taken based on a discussion with several considerations.
"Don't call this treason. No one is deserting,” he said, adding that the garrisons had been surrounded by the enemy.
The stonghold in the last sector of Sievierodonetsk was reported to be crumbling. The trench posts and shelters at the Azot chemical plant compound were increasingly unable to be defended after 120 days of almost nonstop air and artillery shelling.
"In such a situation, it doesn’t make sense to continue to defend," he said.
The troops were ordered to move to a new position. Until Thursday, Ukrainian troops in Sievierodonetsk remained in control of the Azot plant and the surrounding area, while other parts of Sievierodonetsk had long been overtaken by Russian troops following unrelenting artillery bombardment from various sides of Sievierodonetsk.
In a video that was circulated by Ukrainian troops and several pro-government militia groups, Ukrainian troops were seen relying on rifles and grenade launchers to retaliate against the Russians. They fired from behind the factory walls, then, after a few minutes at the shooting site, immediately changed positions.
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Yana Skakova and her son Yehor who fled from Lysychansk with other people sit in an evacuation train at the train station in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, May 28, 2022. Fighting has raged around Lysychansk and neighbouring Sievierodonetsk, the last major cities under Ukrainian control in Luhansk region.
Almost every day for the past four months, Sievierodonetsk endured Russian air and artillery strikes. "The entire infrastructure has been completely destroyed, with some 90 percent of the houses were damaged or destroyed," Gaidai said.
Repeated situation
The situation in Sievierodonetsk has been the same as in Mariupol, Donetsk province, where Ukrainian troops held out at the Azovstal steel plant. After months of siege under air and artillery pounding, Ukraine finally withdrew the defending troops from Azovstal. The Russians captured the surrendering troops.
Russia grants prisoner-of-war status only to the Ukrainian armed forces. As for domestic and foreign militias, Russia treats them as war criminals.
While announcing the withdrawal of troops from Azot, Gaidai did not give out the details on the number and fate of Ukrainian troops. Circulating reports have mentioned that the majority of the troops in Azot made it out safely.
As for the remaining 568 civilians, Gaidai expressed his concern about them being held hostage by the Russians, given the fact that Moscow had opened an evacuation corridor from Sievierodonetsk only to the area under their control.
The city is the last to add to the list of territories in Luhansk province to have fallen to Russia and its Luhansk militia proxies.
As of Friday afternoon local time, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces general staff office had yet to announce their stance on the troops’ retreat from Sievierodonetsk. The city is the last to add to the list of territories in Luhansk province to have fallen to Russia and its Luhansk militia proxies.
Moscow claims it has taken control of the villages south of Sievierodonetsk-Lysychansk, and Kyiv does not deny this. The villages include Loskutovka, Podlesnoye, Mirnaya Dolina, Shchebkaryer, Vrubovka, Nyrkovo, Nikiolayevka, Novoivanovka, Ustinovka and Ray-Aleksandrovka, Loskutivka.
“Russia is putting all its might into taking over all of Luhansk region in the near future. Fighting is taking place in various places," Gaidai said.
He said Russia continued to bombard Lysychansk with air strikes and field artillery, with the offending troops being detected to be shifting from Toshkivka to the city. The march has faced little resistance because the area in the south of Lysychansk is already under Russian control.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said some 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers and militia members were holding out in Zolote and its vicinity. They are part of four battalions, each consisting of 1,800 Ukrainian soldiers on average. There are also 120 domestic and 80 foreign militia members.
"They are running out of people, weapons and munition," he said.
Russia continues to bombard Zolote and the surrounding area. The districts along the main road of the Luhansk capital city with Lysychansk have been completely surrounded and are impossible for Ukrainian troops from other units to reach.
"Ukraine has lost control of these units. The supply of weapons, munition, fuel and necessities has been completely cut off," he said.
Prisoner of war
He reiterated that Russia would follow the Geneva Conventions with regard to the captured Ukrainian regular troops by treating them as prisoners of war. As for Ukrainian and foreign militias, Moscow was said to be treating them as war criminals.
They are two British nationals and a Moroccan who, with the Ukrainian troops and militia forces, had fought the Russians on the battlefield.
Three foreign nationals have been captured by the pro-Russian Luhansk militia. They are two British nationals and a Moroccan who, with the Ukrainian troops and militia forces, had fought the Russians on the battlefield.
A tribunal court set up by militias in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in early June sentenced all three to death. Western countries have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the prosecution on the grounds that only Russia recognizes the sovereignty of the DPR and LPR.
AP/VADIM GHIRDA/VG
People pack bags into the back of a car in Sievierodonetsk, the Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences you have never seen."
Russia had also arrested two US citizens who joined a militia in Ukraine. The two, Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, are both former US soldiers from Alabama.
Ukrainian International Legion spokesperson Damien Magrou said they were professional mercenaries paid by Kyiv to join the Ukrainian army. At least 20,000 people from 52 countries signed up for the legion.
