Ukraine War: Russia Captures Lysychansk as Ukrainian Troops Withdraw; President Volodymyr Zelensky Vows To Regain City

The last major city held by Ukraine in the hotly contested eastern province of Luhansk has fallen, according to military officials on both sides on Sunday, giving Moscow a significant victory in its campaign to capture the Donbas, the mineral-rich region bordering Russia that has long been a target of President Vladimir V. Putin.

Lysychansk, an industrial city on a bluff above the Siversky Donets River, had held out for a week after Russia took possession of Sievierodonetsk, its twin city across the river.

Ukrainian Troops Forced To Give up Lysychansk to Russia

However, after Russia bombarded Lysychansk with artillery fire and cut off its supply lines, following months of bombardment and weeks of brutal street warfare that reduced both cities to grayed-out husks, Ukrainian soldiers were forced to flee.

A video released on Twitter on Sunday showed Russian soldiers posing for photos outside Lysychansk City Hall, yelling "Lysychansk is ours" and brandishing the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic, the pro-Moscow separatist state that Mr. Putin claimed to be safeguarded when his forces invaded Ukraine.

Western military strategists had little doubt that Moscow would eventually prevail in the twin cities, but with their defeat evident, pressure on the US and its allies has increased to send the more powerful weaponry promised to Ukraine to the front lines. The next phase of the fight, however, will be a test not only of military logistics but also of Western cooperation. As the fight carries on, their population is suffering economically, and allies' solidarity may be harder to maintain.

Russia is now confronted with new issues. It holds more than a fifth of Ukraine - many cities in name only, skeleton ruins devoid of inhabitants after months of shelling - but it will need to replace depleted soldiers and weapons as it fights what threatens to be a long and bloody ground battle, New York Times reported.

Zelensky Vows To Regain Lysychansk

Lysychansk looks out over Severodonetsk, which is located across the Seversky Donets river. It was hoped that because it was built at a high elevation, it would provide a natural powerful defense. However, the noose surrounding the city had tightened, with Russian forces controlling the majority of entry and exit points. Over the preceding week, several Ukrainian forces had already retreated to the next lines of defense.

On Sunday, Ukrainian officials were uncharacteristically silent about the violence in the city. This might be justified in part by operational security"concerns. They would not want to give the impression of a tactical retreat. However, the loss of Lysychansk will be viewed as another defeat in the east.

The loss of Lysychansk is far from the conclusion of the conflict in Donbas. Ukraine still has authority over vast metropolitan areas in the neighboring city of Donetsk. Their soldiers have been creating fresh defensive lines between Bakhmut and Slovyansk, albeit they are also being heavily shelled by Russia. Both sides have suffered significant casualties, as per BBC.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv's military had retreated from Lysychansk in the eastern Donbas area. According to Zelensky, Russia is concentrating its firepower on the Donbas front, but Ukraine will respond with long-range weaponry like the US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, according to The Telegraph via MSN .