(Paris) Ukrainian forces retained the initiative on Monday and continued their advance in eastern Ukraine after seizing the strategic town of Lyman on Sunday, while maintaining pressure on the Russian army in the region of Kherson (south).
Posted at 9:20 a.m.
In the Donbass basin, the loss of Lyman, in the Donetsk region annexed by Moscow, is a major setback for the Russian army, unable at this stage to control all of the territories it occupies.
“The announcement of the annexations (of four Ukrainian regions by Moscow) contrasts sharply with the military reality on the ground,” observes Michael Kofman, of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank.
Here is an update on the situation at 222e day of the war based on information from AFP journalists on site, official Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources, analysts and international organizations.
Kyiv offensive in the east
The capture on Sunday by the Ukrainian army of the town of Lyman, an important railway junction, poses a serious problem for Russian forces, on the defensive and forced to establish a new front line.
“I have slept in the basement since the first day of this infernal war (February 24), but yesterday the bombing stopped,” a resident of Zakitne, 10 km from Lyman, told AFP on Sunday. .
Faced with the Ukrainian advance, the Russian army had to hastily fall back towards Svatové, halfway to the major major cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lyssychansk, which it had struggled so hard to take from the Ukrainians before the summer.
From now on, “the main access roads to the Rubizhne/Lyssytchansk/Sievierodonetsk conurbation are within reach of Ukrainian artillery, of its most recent systems, but also of 152 mm – from which it recovered large stocks of ammunition in the pocket of Koupiansk or in Lyman”, notes Joseph Henrotin, researcher at the Institute of Comparative Strategy (ISC) and editor-in-chief of the specialized journal DSI.
The still disputed south
In the Kherson region, almost 90% controlled by the Russians, the Ukrainian army continues its offensive to try to encircle the Russians deployed on the west bank of the Dnieper river from the north and east. But “the situation remains complicated, hostilities are continuing”, commented the Ukrainian presidency on Monday.
According to Kyiv, “the enemy is looking for ways to improve the logistical supply of its troops, continues to set up alternative (water) crossings and repairs near Antonivsky and Kakhovka bridges” above the River.
For their part, “the Russians continued to bombard with Iranian drones the regions of Kryvyi Rig and Mykolaiv”, north and east of the Kherson region, says the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In the region of Zaporizhia, approximately 70% controlled by Moscow, Russian strikes fell on Monday at dawn on the eponymous town and two surrounding villages, says Kyiv, which reports the launch of “about ten S300 missiles” on these localities.
New European Weapons
To strengthen the Ukrainian military arsenal and repel Russia, Germany, Denmark and Norway have promised Kyiv from 2023 sixteen armored car artillery guns, Slovak Zuzana-2.
France is also considering new deliveries, in particular 6 to 12 Caesar guns taken from an order intended for Denmark, we learned on Monday from a source familiar with the matter. Paris has already delivered 18 examples of this truck-mounted 155 mm gun, amputating nearly a quarter of the French army fleet.
Paris is also considering providing Kyiv with 20 Bastion armored vehicles, according to another source familiar with the matter.