Ukraine Is Taking Back Luhansk: Speaking on Ukraine’s Freedom TV channel, Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, revealed on Monday morning how Ukrainian Armed Forces have now liberated 12 settlements in occupied Luhansk Oblast as of November 14.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already liberated 12 settlements in the Luhansk region from the occupiers. Biolohorivka is under constant shelling and attacks by the Russian army,” the Ukrainian official said.
During the discussion, Haidai revealed how Russian forces have intensified attacks on villages recently liberated, meaning Ukrainian forces are now working to evacuate as many people as possible from the newly liberated towns. Ukrainian official also claimed that many of the Russian soldiers fighting in the same areas are “Wagnerians,” suggesting they are private mercenaries working for the Wagner Group.
Haidai said that Ukrainian artillerymen are using long-range weapons, allowing them to maintain the new frontlines around the recently liberated settlements, which reportedly include the village of Makiyivka.
As part of the strategy to reclaim and maintain control of these territories, Ukrainian soldiers say they are using the Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled gun, allowing them to hit Russian targets and separate enemy infantry. The tactics make Russian soldiers and positions more vulnerable to ground attacks along the border of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Can It Happen?
Yes, but Russian forces won’t be leaving without a fight. While Ukrainian forces have made notable gains in Luhansk, and have even taken back control of Kherson city, Russia still has more troops on their way to Ukraine. Tens of thousands of reservists have already been deployed to Ukraine, but hundreds of thousands of troops are still allegedly undergoing training and still preparing to head out and fight.
Once those reservists arrive on the battlefield, it will simply be a matter of time before Ukraine knows whether or not the soldiers are capable of pushing back and reclaiming territory liberated by the Ukrainians in recent weeks and months.
In an opinion piece for Euractiv, Ukrainian political analyst Roman Rukomeda argued that the liberation of Kherson last week is a sign of more to come.
Russian Artillery in Ukraine.
“After Kherson, it will be the turn of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, then Crimea,” Rukomedia predicted. “Or Crimea could be first, followed by Donbas, depending on how the situation plays out on the battlefield.”
The Ukrainian analyst also described a “positive mood” among Ukrainians despite the ongoing problems, including power blackouts and a lack of water in some major urban areas.
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