Separatists claim to have surrounded the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk

Army-backed separatists Russian claimed on Saturday that they had “totally” surrounded Lysychansk, a key city in eastern Ukraine where violent fighting is taking place these days.

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“Today (Saturday) the Lugansk people’s militia (separatist army) and the Russian armed forces occupied the last strategic high positions, which allows us to state that the town of Lysychansk is completely surrounded,” said a representative of the Lugansk separatist army, Andrei Marotchko, quoted by the Russian agency TASS.

Lysychansk is the last major city in the Luhansk region controlled by the Ukrainian military.

Its twin city, Severodonetsk, separated by the Donets River, fell to the Russians last week after Ukrainian troops withdrew after weeks of fighting.

The capture of Lysychansk would allow the Russians to advance towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, two other important cities in the Donbas industrial region, which Moscow wants to conquer.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.