Russia Breaks Ukrainian Lines for Final Assault on Donbas

On Friday, the Russian Army broke through the Ukrainian lines in the Donetsk region by conquering the town of Liman and tightening the encirclement around Severodonetsk, key points in the final assault plans on the fortified district of Sloviansk-Kramatorsk.

RELATED:

'WW3 Will Start If Russia Defeats Us', Ukraine Claims

Although they have not yet taken over the entire territory of Luhansk, Russian troops have already managed to advance 60 kilometres behind the enemy lines between the two regions of the Donbas.

CLEAR PASSAGE TO SLOVIANSK

Donetsk Republic's militias claim to have taken "full control" of Liman. Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Ukrainian military administration in Donetsk, acknowledged that "most of Liman is not under the control of the Ukrainian military" and that Ukrainian troops have retreated 90 kilometers to the south.

"The same thing is happening in the direction of Svitlodarsk. The enemy is now in that territory. Ukrainian forces have regrouped to take fortified positions," he added.

According to the Ukrainian generals, Moscow wants to force Kiev to fight a great battle for control of the Donbas, which the Ukrainian Army seeks to avoid at all costs.

Liman is a small town of less than 30,000 inhabitants, but it is an important crossroads that leads directly to Sloviansk, which is just 30 kilometres away. Sloviansk is not only the main railway junction in the area, but was the scene of the outbreak of the pro-Russian armed uprising in 2014.

THE SIEGE OF SEVERODONETSK

Meanwhile, the situation in the last Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk is also desperate. According to Ukrainian militar authorities, in Severodonetsk, a city currently inhabited by less than 10 percent of its population (106,000), it is practically surrounded by 70 percent of its perimeter.

Russian units managed to enter the city on Friday, specifically at the Mir Hotel, although they were expelled by Ukrainian military.

According to the latest report of the Institute for War Studies (ISW), it is likely that the Russians will complete the capture of Severodonetsk in the coming days.

MISSILE LAUNCHERS FOR ZELENSKY

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenski called for weapons "without exceptions or limits." On Friday, the Pentagon said it does not rule out this possibility. Washington could announce next week the sending of launchers known as MLRS and HIMARS.

These weapons would allow Ukrainians to more easily attack targets inside Russia. So far, Ukraine has only had minor weapons that are fired from a vehicle and have a maximum range of 300 kilometers. Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Washington about the risks of supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons. 

"We warn the West in the most serious way that they are already waging, in essence, a subsidiary war against Russia with the hands, bodies, and brains of the Ukrainian neo-Nazis, but that would be a serious step towards an unacceptable escalation," he pointed out.