The Ukrainian military has withdrawn from the city of Popasna in the Luhansk region, the city is under the control of Russian forces, said the head of the Luhansk regional military administration Serhiy Gaidai. The battles for Popasna lasted more than two months.. Why is the loss of this city dangerous for the Ukrainian army?

" Therefore, our troops retreated to stronger positions, which they had prepared in advance,"

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video message published the day before, compared Popasna with the Czech village of Lidice destroyed by the Nazis, saying that "

Popasna is a relatively small city in the west of the Lugansk region, before the war about 20 thousand people lived there. During the armed conflict in the Donbass in 2014, the city changed hands, but eventually remained under the control of Kyiv.

After the signing of the Minsk agreements, Popasna was in the front line, from time to time the city was shelled. Ukrainian forces created a powerful fortified area in Popasna and its environs.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fierce battles began for Popasna. The city was attacked in early March, and only by mid-April did the advancing troops manage to break through to its center.. But the fighting didn't stop..

The Russian army has concentrated huge forces on the arc from Popasnaya to Izyum and further north, according to a recent review by the American research center RAND, which quotes CNN. Some analysts believe that Russia has more than 50 battalion tactical groups there - a thousand soldiers each.

" They will use a large number of cluster munitions and artillery mines,"

Despite weeks of artillery and rocket attacks, Russian troops fail to break through Ukrainian defenses in Donbass. Only when the Ukrainian military has nothing left to defend do they make a tactical retreat to avoid being surrounded, US military analysts say..

This is exactly what happened in the city of Kremennaya in April.

“In Kremennaya, we realized that if we just hold on to the ground, the guys will die, and there will be no harm to the enemy, so we regrouped and left,” said Sergei Gaidai, head of the Lugansk regional military administration..

Why is the loss of Popasna dangerous for the Ukrainian army?

But in the case of Popasna, the loss of this settlement can seriously complicate the position of Ukrainian troops in this direction..

The city is located on a hill, about 260 meters above sea level. This is higher than other nearby cities - Lisichansk and Severodonetsk located to the north, Svetlodarsk in the south and Bakhmut in the west.

After the capture of Popasna, all these cities find themselves in a 30-kilometer shelling zone. This is the maximum firing range of the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, which forms the basis of Russian divisional artillery (when using a long-range charge).

Massive shelling and gradual squeezing out of the enemy is a tactic used by the Russian army in the second stage of the so-called special military operation. At the first stage, she emphasized attempts to quickly break through with tank columns, but such tactics for the most part turned out to be unsuccessful..

Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last major cities in the Lugansk region remaining under Ukrainian control. Russian troops are expected to step up pressure on them. According to the head of the Lugansk administration, Sergei Gaidai, a tense situation has developed in a number of villages near Severodonetsk, there are constant battles for settlements.

The capture of Popasna gives Russian troops the opportunity to occupy a bridgehead there, regroup their forces and choose a direction for a new strike.. For example, simultaneously with the Izyum group, attack Kramatorsk and Slavyansk in order to encircle Ukrainian forces in the Severodonetsk direction.

The success factor is also important - Russian supporters of the "

But there are pitfalls here too..

What is fraught with the situation with Popasna for the Russian army?

Military strategists do not like such ledges as were formed in the case of Popasna. Moving a wedge deep into enemy territory greatly stretches the supply lines - in other words, complicates the supply of ammunition, equipment, food, the introduction of reinforcements and the removal of the wounded. And, even worse, makes the advancing troops vulnerable from the flanks..

The enemy has the opportunity and temptation to arrange a " And the Ukrainian army has considerable reserves that have not even entered the battle yet..

The danger of a Ukrainian counterattack with subsequent encirclement forces the Russian command to keep large groups on the flanks near Popasna, while there is a noticeable shortage of troops on other fronts.

The offensive of the Ukrainian army east of Kharkiv towards the Russian border continues - to stop it, the Russian army is forced to blow up bridges.

Another difficulty is that it is not enough to occupy the territory, it is important to keep it. After occupying Popasna, the advancing Russian troops find themselves in the situation of defenders - and the Ukrainian army has more and more heavy long-range artillery thanks to NATO supplies.

Source: BBC.