Russia shifts focus on Donetsk after capturing Luhansk, says Ukraine Governor
4 July, 2022 | Vaishali Sharma
After seizing neighbouring Luhansk, Russia's main goal in Ukraine will turn to attempting to take the whole Donetsk area, the governor of the Luhansk region declared on Monday.
After seizing neighbouring Luhansk, Russia’s main goal in Ukraine will turn to attempting to take the whole Donetsk area, the governor of the Luhansk region declared on Monday.
Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Reuters in an interview that he expects the city of Sloviansk, and particularly the hamlet of Bakhmut, to come under severe bombardment as Russia attempts to seize full control of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
Russia claims full control of the Luhansk area following the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from the bombed-out city of Lysychansk, however Gaidai reports fighting in two minor settlements.
“The loss of the Luhansk region is painful because it is the territory of Ukraine. For me personally, this is special. This is the homeland where I was born and I am also the head of the region,” Gaidai said.
“In terms of the military, it is bad to leave positions, but there is nothing critical. We need to win the war, not the battle for Lysychansk,” he said. “It hurts a lot, but it’s not losing the war.”
“They (Russian forces) will not transfer 100 percent of their troops to some front because they need to hold the line. If they leave their positions, then ours can carry out some kind of counter-offensive,” Gaidai said.
“Still, for them goal number 1 is the Donetsk region. Sloviansk and Bakhmut will come under attack – Bakhmut has already started being shelled very hard.”
He claimed that the departure from Lysychansk was “centralised” and orderly, and that it was required to preserve the lives of Ukrainian forces who were about to be besieged.
Russia has focused its military operation on the industrial Donbas heartland, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk, where Moscow-backed separatist proxies have been battling Ukraine since 2014.
Russia claims that its February 24 “special military action” in Ukraine intends to defend Russian speakers against nationalists. Ukraine and its supporters argue that this is a sham excuse for an aggressive conflict aimed at taking territory.