Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin's Troops Take Over Lysychansk Oil Refinery, But Lose Snake Island in Big Win for Ukrainians

The Russian onslaught on the eastern city of Lysychansk has resumed, and Russian soldiers have taken over the refinery, according to Vitaliy Kiselev, the assistant minister of interior of the Russian-backed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), on Russian-backed media source Zvezda.

Meanwhile, according to a Thursday evening report from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia is currently conducting assault operations in the vicinity of the Lysychansk oil refinery and has "had partial success, and occupies the northwestern and southeastern sections of the plant.

Situation in Lysychansk "Extremely Dangerous"

Serhiy Hayday, commander of the Luhansk area military administration, warned on Thursday night that Lysychansk is an extremely tough situation. It was reasonably peaceful for the first several weeks after the Russians took Snake Island in the Black Sea on the first day of their incursion into Ukraine on February 24. On May 2, the Ukrainians began using Bayraktar TB2 drones to attack Russian soldiers and equipment on and around the island.

Since then, the Ukrainians have performed drone strikes on the island virtually every week. The strikes were massively successful, destroying military vehicles, structures, ships, and even a helicopter.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed Russian forces evacuated the island on Thursday following what they called a successful operation. Meanwhile, Russian army spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated during a press conference that the army's personnel departed the island as a gesture of goodwill, CNN reported.

Russian military abandoned Snake Island, a crucial Black Sea stronghold, on Thursday, in a triumph for Ukraine that might reduce Russia's stranglehold over Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine Drives Out Russian Troops

After an artillery and missile attack overnight, Ukraine claimed to have forced Russian soldiers out. In contrast, a Ukrainian officer in the highly fought-over eastern region of Luhansk recounted Thursday's challenges for Ukrainian forces in the city of Lysychansk.

Russian artillery blasted from multiple directions while the Russian army was advancing from several sides, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai stated on Ukrainian television.

According to an official from the pro-Russian separatist government in the Luhansk region, the Lysychansk oil refinery is now totally controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces, as are all highways leading to Lysychansk. According to Ukraine, the major route out is generally unusable due to fighting, although the city is not completely cut off.

In his nightly video speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed both Snake Island and the Donbas area, which includes the border regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The liberation of Snake Island was crucial for the situation in the Black Sea, but "it does not yet guarantee security; it does not yet guarantee that the enemy will not return," he stated. The Russians "have just brought in all their reserves to strike us" in Luhansk and Donetsk, Zelenskiy claimed. Russian forces have been attempting to encircle Lysychansk since last week when they took Sievierodonetsk on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets River after weeks of combat.

Russia has concentrated its firepower in the Donbas area, taking cities and villages. Despite ceding ground and suffering crushing casualties in recent weeks in the Donbas, Ukraine aims to inflict enough damage to tire Russia's advancing army. Ukrainian soldiers have launched a counter-offensive in the region's south, according Reuters.

According to a spokesman for Russian-backed fighters, the Ukrainian forces' attempt to defend Lysychansk and Severodonetsk was pointless and futile. Russia may be hoping that realpolitik will kick in, with Ukraine being pressured to accept the territorial loss in the name of peace and global stability. Ukraine would very probably reject this, resulting in a frozen situation, as per BBC.