UPDATED. Ukraine says the tactical withdrawal will save the lives of its soldiers who will regroup to launch a counter offensive with the help of long-range Western.
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian forces were taking up new defensive lines in the east on Monday, July 4, preparing for a hard new phase in the war as President Vladimir Putin proclaimed Russia’s victory in the months-long battle of Luhansk.
During a brief televised meeting with his defense minister, Putin congratulated Russian forces on their “victories in the Luhansk direction”. Those who participated in the combat should “absolutely rest and recover their military preparedness”, while other units continue fighting in other areas, he said.
Military experts say the battle could prove to be a turning point in the war – not because of the strategic value of the ruined cities themselves, which is limited – but because of the impact of the losses on both sides’ ability to fight on. Moscow will hope Ukraine’s retreat gives Russian forces momentum to push further West into neighboring Donetsk province, where Ukraine still holds the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Bakhmut.Ukraine, which could have withdrawn from Luhansk weeks ago but chose to keep fighting there to exhaust the invasion force, hopes the ferocity of the battle will leave the Russians too depleted to hold on to gains elsewhere.
Rob Lee, of the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the new Ukrainian defensive line should be easier for Ukraine to defend than the pocket in Luhansk province it has given up. “It’s something that Putin can show as a sign of success,” he said. “But overall, this doesn’t mean Ukraine will have to concede or give in any time soon.”
Last week, Ukraine scored its own major victory, driving Russian forces off Snake Island, a desolate but strategic outcrop in the Black Sea that Moscow had captured on the war’s first day but could no longer defend from Ukrainian strikes.Melvin, the RUSI expert, said the decisive battle for Ukraine was likely to take place not in the east, where Russia is mounting its main assault, but in the south, where Ukraine has begun a counter-offensive to recapture territory.
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