The announcement of the Russian Ministry of Defense that: “Donetsk People’s Forces, with the support of the Russian forces, liberated the entire city of Krasnyi-Liman Donetsk from the armed men”, prompting military experts and observers to talk that the full control of Donbass after capturing this strategic city is closer than any time.
And about the importance of Liman in Russian calculations and plans, and whether controlling it will mark the beginning of controlling Donbass as a whole, Muhannad Al-Azzawi, a military and strategic expert, told Sky News Arabia: “The Russian army’s control of the strategic town of Liman in eastern Ukraine is almost a turning point in The conflict over the territory, which is the crossing to the main cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, and this control will lead to the entry into the final stage of achieving full control of the Donbass region.
The military expert added: “The Russian army applies to Severodonesk and besieges it completely, which puts the Ukrainian army in a very difficult and critical position, if it withdraws to the depth and leaves the territory in the hands of Donbass forces in the republics of Lugansk and Donetsk allied with Russia, and this strengthens Russia’s position in moving to the third stage through Advance towards southern Odessa, if the calm efforts made by French President Macron and German Chancellor Schulz fail.
Al-Azzawi explained that “this field success is undoubtedly a qualitative development in the context of the war, and it would raise the morale of the Russian army, despite all the American and Western military support for Ukraine, and perhaps push the United States in return to supply Kyiv with long-range missiles, and this is what Moscow strongly warned of.” .
For his part, Jamal Ares, writer and political researcher, explained, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “It seems that the battle of the Ukrainians is lost in Donbass, which is in the hands of the fallen militarily, according to all indicators and facts on the ground on the battlefield. We are talking about a region that includes two republics, although they are They are declared unilaterally and do not enjoy international recognition, but they are closely related to Russia and receive all support from it, and they have civil and military institutions and an autonomy experience that extends since 2014.”
That is why Ares adds: “It is absolutely clear that there is a social and popular incubator for the Russians in Donbass, regardless of the Russian-Ukrainian national dispute in it and the conflicting narratives of the two sides about it and their mutual accusations. “.
Lyman is an important junction of Ukrainian railways. It is located northeast of the city of Sloviansk, which Kyiv recaptured from pro-Russian separatists in 2014, and Kramatorsk is the capital of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region in the east.
The capture of Lyman clears the way towards Sloviansk and then Kramatorsk, with progress being made in attempting to encircle Severodonetsk and Lysechansk, two important eastern Ukrainian cities.
The control of Lyman would facilitate the control of Russian forces over the entire Donbass region, which would subsequently enable Moscow to link the areas it controls in the east with the Crimea in the south, which Moscow gained control over in 2014, and inaugurate a land corridor between it and Donbass.
#Russia #advancing #Donbass #Battle #East #time #approaching