Lysychansk was the last remaining major city in the Ukrainian-controlled eastern Luhansk region, which has now come under Russian control. Former British Army intelligence officer Forbes McKenzie said it was not critical for the Ukrainians to retain control of Lysychansk to win the war. Ukraine last – The Ukrainian flag was raised again after the important victory at Snake Island He said: “They quietly left Lysychansk over the weekend. It was not broadcast that they were going to do that. “They did a very successful job of regularly wearing out the Russians in that area. Lysychansk is not the key – they don’t need to hold that city to win the war. “What they’ve done is very successfully wear down the Russians and then they’ve backed off. “There is a road that goes from Sloviansk to Bakhmut. It is estimated that the Ukrainians will move to the west side of this road where they will dig in and then prepare for the next attack.” “Exploratory Strikes in the North” Mr McKenzie said the next phase would determine the Russians’ action. He added: “The Russians we are seeing are making probing strikes in the north. “We’re seeing activity taking place from the Russians now that will set the stage for what they can do next. “But I think it’s worth saying that the Russians are worn out. They had real problems building forces. “The (British) Chief of the Defense Staff Patrick Saunders talks about the amount of munitions, fired in 48 hours, could deplete a typical NATO country. “A lot is happening and a lot needs to be done for the next phase.” Read more: Russian scientist dies after being ‘arrested on his deathbed’ and flown to Moscow Ukrainian citizens learning the hard way that mines will take years to clear However, he said any ambition for the Ukrainians to retake Lysychansk “would require physical troops on the ground and that requires a lot of effort”. The latest intelligence report from the UK Ministry of Defense said fighting in and around the Luhansk region had “intensified” in the past week. He added that with the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Lysychansk, Russia would “almost certainly” turn to seizing the Donetsk region.
