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KYIV — Russian Luhan The Governor of the Sik region said that the main focus of the war in Ukraine would shift to trying to occupy the entire Donetsk region after occupying the neighboring Luhansk.
Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Reuters in an interview that Russia is trying to take full control of what is called Donbus in eastern Ukraine, predicting that the city of Slovyansk and especially the city of Bakumut will be severely attacked. He said he was. ..
Russia states that it has complete control of the Luhansk region after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the bombed city of Lysychans'k, but Guydai says fighting continues in two small villages. Stated.
"Because the Luhansk region is a territory of Ukraine, the loss of this region is painful. For me personally, this is special. This is my hometown. And I am also the head of the region, "said Guydai.
"When it comes to the army, leaving a position is bad, but nothing important. You have to win the war, not the battle of Lysychans'k," he said. "It hurts so much, but it hasn't lost the war."
He said that the withdrawal from Lysychans'k was "centralized" and orderly and was at risk of being surrounded. He said it was necessary to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
"They (Russian troops) do not move 100% of their troops to the front because they need to hold the line. If they leave their position, we are kind of You can carry out a counterattack, "said Guydai.
"Still, target number 1 for them is the Donetsk region. Slovyansk and Bakumut will be attacked-Bakumut has already begun to be bombarded very hard."
Since abandoning the attack on the capital Kieu, Russia has concentrated its military operations in the heart of industrial Donbus, including Luhansk and Donetsk. Here, Moscow-backed separatist agents have been fighting Ukraine since 2014.
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Bakumut, Sloviansk, and nearby Kramatorsk are located southwest of Lysychans'k and are the major urban areas in Donetsk to compete with Russian troops.
Guydai said that the week-long battle over Lysychans'k attracted Russian troops who may have been fighting on other fronts and built a fortress in the Donetsk region for Ukrainian troops, "more for the Russians. "Make it difficult," he said. there. "
" The (Russian) tactics are the same. They shoot everything with a cannon, but it will be difficult to move forward, "he said.
Repeated Ukrainian calls for more weapons from Western allies who understood what was happening in Ukraine "too late", Guydai said that his troops were long enough. He said he could start a counterattack if he had a weapon.
"They shoot our position 24 hours a day from a distance," he said.
Russia states that the "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine, which began on February 24, aims to protect Russian speakers from nationalists. Ukraine and its allies state that this is an unfounded excuse for a war of aggression aimed at occupying territory.
(reported by Tom Balmforth, edited by Timothy Heritage)
