Every day that the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, we have the opportunity to witness new history.
html On July 3, Russian Defense Minister General Shoigu announced that the Russian army had completely "liberated" another important town in the eastern Ukraine region - Lisichansk .
RIA Novosti also reported earlier that the Russian army had planted the red flag representing victory in front of the Lisichansk city government building that was bombed by the Ukrainian army.
Lisichansk is only separated by a river from the city of Severodonetsk, which the Russian army captured last month. Like Severodonetsk, Lisichansk is also an important industrial town. During Soviet times, the city supplied oil to the entire southern Soviet Union.
More importantly, Lisichansk is the last big city controlled by Ukraine in the entire Donbass region. With Ukraine losing this city, the entire Lugansk region is already under the control of the Russian army. Inner . Less than two weeks after losing Severodonetsk,
lost control of Lisichansk again. For Ukraine, this is obviously another huge setback.
Kiev ’s response is also intriguing.
Sak, adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, said that despite Russia's statement, Lisichansk was not "completely controlled" by the Russian army.
Later that day, Zelensky gave a video speech, admitting that the Ukrainian army had withdrawn from Lischichansk, but he vowed "will come back again."
Zelensky said that Ukraine will use Western-assisted weapons, such as the "Haimas" long-range rocket launchers recently provided by the United States to Ukraine, to fight back against the Russian army and regain lost territory.
It is not difficult for a discerning person to see that, although it is very reluctant, Kiev has acquiesced to the fact that Lisichansk fell.
With the Russian army taking full control of the Luhansk area, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has also entered a new stage.
On April 22, the Russian Ministry of Defense released the goals of the second phase of the special military operation against Ukraine. Minnekayev, deputy commander of the Russian Central Military District, said that the Russian army plans to fully control the Donbass region and southern Ukraine at this stage .
On the 1st of last month, the Russian army announced the third phase goals. The goals include controlling Nikolayev Oblast , Odessa and Kharkiv Oblast .
From the specific content point of view, the goals of the second and third phases overlap - There are two southern Ukrainian states that the Russian army has not yet controlled, namely Odessa and Nikolayev .
Needless to say, Kharkiv Oblast, the capital of the state, Kharkiv , is the second largest city in Ukraine. It is also the center of industry, science and technology, and education in eastern Ukraine, and is a battleground for military strategists. Only by controlling Kharkov can the Russian army control the entire Udong region.
is divided according to content. The current actions of the Russian army are still in the second stage, but in fact the second stage and the third stage are carried out simultaneously.
After the Russian army took control of Luhansk, only parts of Donetsk were still in Ukrainian hands. However, since both states have declared "independence", there is no big problem for the Russian army to finally control the Donbas region. Therefore, it is very likely that the Russian army will strengthen its attack on southern Ukraine.
According to the latest reports from Russian media, the Russian army has advanced to Seversk, 30 kilometers west of Sichansk, and the battle has begun.
The reason why I say that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered a new stage is because Putin seems to have prepared for the "worst case" - If Zelensky refuses to compromise, then controlling the entire eastern Ukraine and southern Ukraine will Ukraine turning into a landlocked country is an acceptable outcome for Russia.
I have said before that it is impossible for Putin to accept the result that the Russian army returns without success, but such a result is acceptable.
"Liberating" the Russian-speaking people in the Udong region is the main reason why Putin decided to fight against Ukraine. Therefore, there is nothing to explain in controlling the Udong region.
As for why they want to control southern Ukraine, it is actually very easy to understand.
Although Russia is large, what it lacks most is access to the sea.The largest port city in Russia is St. Petersburg . Most of the other ports are located in high latitudes and have freezing periods.
This flaw has greatly restricted Russia’s economic development, and Ukraine has many ports, almost all of which are concentrated in its southern region. Seven of the eight busiest ports in Ukraine are located in southern Ukraine (the only one is Kiev), including Odessa.
controls the southern region of Ukraine, which can greatly make up for Russia's shortcomings in the sea, and can also strengthen the control of the Black Sea .
However, it is not easy for Russia to achieve this goal. In addition to the continued advancement of the Russian army, it also has to beware of sneak attacks from Ukraine.
html On the 03rd, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Ukrainian army used Dot-U missiles and drones to attack residential areas in the Russian cities of Belgorod and Kursk in the early morning of that day. missiles and drones Both were intercepted by the air defense system , but the wreckage fell into residential areas and exploded.According to information released by Russia, this attack has resulted in 5 deaths and 2 missing people.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Ukraine has carried out an attack on the Russian mainland, but this time it is the largest battle. The Ukrainian army directly used missiles to attack residential houses.
Such behavior is obviously against the rules of war, but we should all know that the so-called rules of war often only apply when the war does not break out. Especially for the disadvantaged party in a conflict, the rules of war are not the bottom line, but a dotted line that can be crossed at any time.
Finally, I still want to say that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is one of the biggest tragedies since the 21st century. This kind of war is an outcome that all peace-loving countries in the world do not want to see.
No matter how the conflict ends, it is impossible for Russia and Ukraine to return to the past, and neither side can become a real winner.
We are witnessing history, and we deeply feel that peace and tranquility are actually a kind of luxury.
