– Institute for the study of war is considered very reliable, says Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø to news. He is the head teacher at the War School. – It seems as if Ukraine withdrew its forces during Saturday, but has shielded the withdrawal to prevent the Russians from discovering it and use it to push harder, he says. – The Russians are attacking further southwest of the city, and are expected to continue towards Siversk, west of Lysuchansk, where Ukraine has entered new defensive positions, says Ydstebø. Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the information that Lysychansk has fallen. Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø who is the head teacher at the War School. Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / news – Hardly big movements The battle for the Donbas area in eastern Ukraine has been going on in a small area for eleven weeks. And although the Russians have been on the offensive, the advance has been slow. – Only in the last couple of weeks have they taken the two most important cities Severodonetsk, and now Lysychansk, says Lieutenant Colonel Ydstebø. When the Russians withdrew from northern Ukraine, they were to “liberate” the so-called “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk. It was then expected that they would cut off the Ukrainian defenders from the north and south. But it did not happen, he says. – Although the Russians have concentrated their best forces in the area, supported by superior artillery resources, the progress has been a handful of kilometers. They have had big losses, but so has Ukraine, so there will hardly be big movements in the time to come. Ukrainian forces have fought a long battle to retain the city of Lysychansk. Photo: ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP «Luhansk is liberated» Russian authorities today describe the conquest of Lysychansk as a great victory. “Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has informed President Vladimir Putin that the entire province of Luhansk has been liberated by Russian forces and separatists,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Putin has recently repeatedly said that the main goal for Russia now is to take full control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. But the president will not say whether the Russian forces will continue to try to take new territory in Ukraine if they manage to take both regions of the Donbass. Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø believes it is too early to declare the war in the Donbas that ended: – Ukraine has acquired Western artillery and missile systems, and has used them to destroy Russian command posts and ammunition depots in the rear areas. This will give the Ukrainian forces a better opportunity to withstand the Russian attacks in the Donbas. – The summer will be a race between Western aid to Ukraine and Russia’s ability to recruit new forces and replace destroyed equipment, says Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø – head teacher at the War School. Reconstruction meeting On Monday, envoys from around 40 countries will meet in Lugano, Switzerland, to draw up a post-war reconstruction plan for Ukraine. Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim (Sp) from Norway will attend the meeting. President Zelenskyj and Prime Minister Støre in Kyiv last Friday Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, ten of the country’s 24 regions have suffered war damage, and many towns and villages must be rebuilt from the ground up. “This will require colossal investment,” he said. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met Zelenskyj in Kyiv on Friday, and promised Norwegian support worth one billion euros – just over 10 billion kroner to Ukraine. The money will be used for reconstruction and humanitarian aid, but also for weapons and military equipment. The aid package must be approved by the Storting.
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The important Ukrainian bastion Lysychansk must have fallen – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
