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26may22


Svetlodarsk under Russian and LPR control, battle at Krasny Liam and encirclement of Severodonetsk and Lissitchansk


While the town of Svetlodarsk, near Debaltsevo, has come under the control of Russia and the LPR (Lugansk People's Republic), the battle is already raging further north-west in the town of Krasny Liman, and the encirclement of Severodonetsk and Lissitchansk is well advanced. An update on the latest frontline developments in the Donbass.

On 24 May 2022, the takeover of Svetlodarsk (opposite Debaltsevo and north-east of Gorlovka) by Russia and the LPR was confirmed by a video showing the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the town's administration building and its replacement by the Russian flag.

The Ukrainian authorities also acknowledged the loss of control over Svetlodarsk. This rapid advance was made possible by the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops who preferred to flee rather than be surrounded (and end up like their comrades in Azovstal), after their failed attempt to blow up the dyke holding back the water at the Uglegorsk power station (which would have had catastrophic consequences for civilians who would have been drowned by the flooding).

The towns of Luganskoye and Mironovski, which are in the immediate vicinity of Svetlodarsk, are also now under Russian and DPR control.

In the DPR (Donetsk People's Republic), the battle for the capture of Krasny Liman (renamed Liman by Ukraine following decommunisation) continues. The assault on the town was launched by Russian and DPR armed forces on the morning of 23 May. The troops entered the city from Drobychevo and Stavka, and took control of the northern part of Krasny Liman.

On 24 May, the Zeliony Klin district was captured, and the Ukrainian army was driven out of the adjacent forests towards Shchurovo, where fighting is currently taking place.

The main Ukrainian defense is on the railway complex and industrial area of the station, and its artillery operates on the side of the chalk mountains near Raigorodok.

About 500 Ukrainian soldiers from the 24th, 79th and 128th brigades of the FAU (Ukrainian Armed Forces), and the neo-Nazi Donbass battalion, have already moved to this area of the front.

Further east, in the LPR, the encirclement of Lissitchansk and Severodonetsk is well advanced. Thanks to the capture of Popasnaya, the Russian and LPR armed forces were able to advance very close to the highway linking Artiomovsk (renamed Bakhmut by Kiev because of decommunisation) to Lissitchansk, putting one of the routes by which the Ukrainian soldiers could have withdrawn within range.

The capture of the villages of Vidrozhdennia, Vasilievka, and the road from Artiomovsk to Lissitchansk was confirmed by a Canadian journalist working on the Ukrainian side.

The only option left for them to escape the encirclement would be the road to Siversk and then Artiomovsk (yellow arrows on the map below). But at the rate at which the encirclement of Artiomovsk is advancing (red arrow), the Ukrainian troops need to decide quickly if they do not want to end up in a new cauldron.

As we can see, contrary to what some Western media are saying, Russia is far from being bogged down in Ukraine. The front line is moving fast, every day Russia, the DPR and the LPR are taking under their control new localities, and the future cauldrons are taking shape more and more clearly.

[Source: Christelle Néant, Donbass Insider, Donetsk, 26May22]

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small logoThis document has been published on 29May22 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.