China News Service, June 17 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) The fierce battle between Russia and Ukraine has entered a critical period. Recently, as the Ukrainian defenders were forced to retreat into the Azot Chemical Plant in Severo Donetsk, the Russian side has called for the Ukrainian army to disarm and surrender. .
However, at present, the Ukrainian army has rejected this "ultimatum" and is still holding its ground.
The scene seems familiar, similar to the encirclement of the Azov Steel Plant, will it be staged again?
Not only that, a key battle that may turn the situation in Donbass is about to start...
【Two small cities, a big battle】
One is Severo-Donetsk and the other is Lisichansk.
The two small towns with a population of just over 120,000 are located on the banks of the North Donets River.
Since the outbreak of the "independence" crisis of Udon Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014, Kyiv has set up the Luhansk Oblast's administrative department in Severo-Donetsk.
There, the Ukrainian army was heavily assembled and the fortifications were tight.
Ukraine said the Russian army was trying to attack from nine directions simultaneously.
Image source: Screenshot of Reuters report
Reuters quoted the analysis of the head of the Ukrainian military as saying that Russia has concentrated its main strike force in northern Luhansk and tried to launch attacks in nine directions at the same time.
Once the Russian army captures Severo-Donetsk, it will be another major victory after Mariupol, and it will definitely hit the morale of the Ukrainian army severely.
A few days ago, the Russian side demanded that the Ukrainian army who retreated to the Azot Chemical Plant in Severo-Donetsk surrender before 8 am Moscow time on June 15, but was refused.
Because the Ukrainian army was still defending Severo Donetsk, the Russian army could not advance to the city of Lisichansk, which was only separated by a river.
How important is Lisichansk?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently inspected the front line and chose there.
Data map: Ukrainian soldiers sit on armored personnel carriers in the Donetsk region.
This small town, across the river from Severo Donetsk, is the last local barrier.
Once the Russian army breaks into Lisichansk, it means that the Ukrainian army completely loses its strategic depth and faces a high risk of the supply line being cut off.
The Russian army will be able to connect the occupied areas into pieces, forming the basis for ensuring the "independence" of Luhansk Oblast, and the situation on the Donbas battlefield will greatly fall to the Russian army.
Therefore, in order to stop each other, both Russia and Ukraine took action and blew up many bridges on the North Donets River connecting the two small cities.
Although the "last" main bridge was blown up, the Russian army's battle to cross the river seems imperative.
[1000 Ukrainian casualties every day? 】
"The fierce struggle in the Luhansk region continues," said Zaluzhni, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, on the Internet recently.
Data map: Ukrainian soldiers use howitzers during air defense exercises.
Strucker, the mayor of Severo Donetsk, pointed out that the Ukrainian side had "partial success and a tactical retreat" and was "trying to push the enemy into the city center".
He said that the Ukrainian army has not been cut off from the retreat, but "the escape route is very dangerous."
Fighting so fiercely, how about the casualties of the Ukrainian army?
The head of the Ukrainian delegation in the Russia-Ukraine negotiation, Arahamia, gave a figure: about 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed or injured every day, of which about 200 to 500 were killed.
But this figure differs from official Kyiv and Pentagon figures.
Uzbekistan President Zelensky, Uzbekistan President's Office adviser Podoljak, and Uzbekistan Defense Minister Reznik have successively pointed out that Uzbekistan loses dozens to 200 soldiers every day, and it is estimated that about 100 to 500 people are injured.
Smoke rises from the Azot chemical plant in Severo-Donetsk, Ukraine.
Image source: Press Office of the Luhansk authorities in Russia
Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that about 100 Ukrainian troops were killed and 100 to 300 wounded every day.
Regardless of the numbers, Zelensky has pointed out that the cost of the Donbass campaign was "very high" and "very terrible" for Ukraine.
It will go down in military history as "one of the most violent wars in Europe".
Whether it is the turn of various types of heavy weapons, or the increasing casualties of the Ukrainian side, it can all show that the Russian side has significantly increased the intensity of its operations.
The reason for this is also obvious. The Russian side hopes that before the Ukrainian army receives and masters enough Western aid weapons, it will take control of the Donbass as soon as possible and seize the bargaining chips, so as to avoid falling into the "quagmire" of the war of attrition.
[In the factory, does this scene seem familiar? 】
Foreign and Ukrainian militants do not allow civilians to come out of the shelter - Anna, a Ukrainian civilian who escaped from the air defense shelter of the Azot chemical plant, told Russian media.
Data map: The Azov Steel Plant in Mariupol, Ukraine.
From April 5, Anna took her children out of the shell-hit home and hid in a chemical factory bunker for two months before escaping.
She noted that there were "very many" foreign mercenaries in the factory who "conversed in English and other foreign languages."
According to reports, officials in Lugansk estimated that about 300 to 400 Ukrainian soldiers and foreign fighters are currently blocked in the chemical plant, and there may be as many as 1,200 civilians in the plant's air-raid shelter to avoid shelling.
The director of the Russian Federation Defense Command Center Mizhantsev pointed out that it was the Ukrainian militants who prevented the evacuation of civilians from the Azot plant.
The scene of more than 2,000 people trapped at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol appears to be repeated.
However, according to the analysis, the strength of the fortifications of the Azot Chemical Plant is far from that of the Azov Steel Plant, which is like a "steel fortress". Even if the Ukrainian army "fights", it may not be able to withstand it for long.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Under great pressure, Zelensky called on the West to speed up the provision of more long-range heavy weapons, because he believed that the course of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict would depend on the outcome of the fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region, and defending the Donbass was "important".
However, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Maliar on the 14th, Ukraine has so far received only 10% of the weapons promised by the West.
"No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our military is, we cannot win this war without the help of our Western partners," Malial noted.
(Finish)