Russian occupiers recruiting Ukrainian citizens to fight for Russia

Russian occupiers are sending people from recently occupied cities into battle in the Luhansk region. Men who did not manage to evacuate are being forced to go to war and fight, including against people from neighboring settlements.

According to the head of the Luhansk regional administration, 10-15 percent of the population remain in large cities of the Luhansk region, which the Russians captured in the summer.

The main direction of the occupiers after capturing Lysychansk, Luhansk region, is Bakhmut in the neighboring Donetsk region. However, the way to this city runs through the small territory of the Luhansk region where Ukraine still holds defenses.

The Russians are firing rockets and using aviation to break through.

On July 17, settlements on the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions withstood five airstrikes.

The Ukrainian military successfully repulsed Russian assaults in the Bakhmut direction, while the Russian militants carried out assaults around the Novoluhanskyi, Semihirya, and Vugleghirskaya settlements.

In the Donetsk direction, the Russian army is trying to conduct assaults near Hryhorivka, and the fighting continues. Ukrainian defenders have successfully repulsed assaults around the Verkhnokamianske, Spirne, and Serebryanka settlements.

Ukrainian soldiers nullified all enemy assault attempts around the Kamianka, Novomykhailivka, and Vugledar settlements. The invaders retreated with losses.

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Russian forces targeted the Kurakhove dam after months of attempts, raising water levels by 1.2 meters in the Vovcha River. However, officials report no risk of a complete reservoir leak.

On July 4, Aleksey Arestovich, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, commented that the capture of Lysychansk was the Russian army’s last “major success” in the war against Ukraine.

“I will make a bold assumption… It is the last success of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine….”

According to his account, losses of the Russian army during the capture of Lysychansk amounted to more than 7,000 soldiers.

On July 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff stated that the Russian army was entrenched in the districts of Lysychansk and Belogorovka. This followed the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Lysychansk due to the “multiple advantages” of the occupiers.

Prior to that on June 25, the Armed Forces of Ukraine organized a withdrawal from Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, and the invaders completely captured the city.