The occupation of the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysichansk was a major victory for the Russian conquest campaign in eastern Ukraine. She proved the success of the Russian bloody strategy, combining a numerical advantage in firepower with a gradual advance..

At the same time, there are serious questions about how long each side can sustain fighting of this intensity.. This is especially true of the depleted and inferior armed forces of Ukraine, which have to rely on poorly trained recruits.. The New York Times writes about this, adding that the Ukrainian army suffered heavy losses.. And her morale is deteriorating due to intense fighting, retreats and constant Russian shelling.. The Russian army has also suffered terrible losses, but it continues its slow advance.. After the occupation of Lisichansk, she actually took control of the entire Lugansk region, which allows the Russians to attack Ukrainian cities in Donetsk.

A destructive strategy based on the capabilities of long-range artillery is suitable for the plains of the Ukrainian east. In addition, shorter supply chains in the region also play in favor of Russia.. However, this strategy may not work in other places.. It is still not clear how far Vladimir Putin is going to go during his offensive, as well as how many losses in manpower and equipment his army can withstand before it needs a long pause to recuperate..

Ukrainian officials say their goal is to inflict as much pain as possible on the Russian army by forcing it to fight for cities, as happened in Severodonetsk and, to a lesser extent, in Lysychansk.. But both cities still fell into occupation. So now this approach is questionable.. The attitude of the Ukrainian military towards him is also not unambiguous.. Some of them are convinced that attempts to keep the cities are fruitless.

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“For me, a human life is more important than the name Lysichansk,” said 52-year-old commander of the National Guard battalion Yuriy Bereza, days before the Ukrainian side decided to retreat from the city instead of fighting for every block, as was the case in Severodonetsk.

A volunteer named Vladimir was among those who were the last to leave Severodonetsk. His unit of about 100 soldiers lost half of the fighters. He curses when he talks about those battles and complains that " At the same time, he nodded at a Ukrainian T-80 tank standing across the road and said that the tank units still covered the infantrymen, while the artillery did not..

At the beginning of the war, Russian forces tried to quickly capture Kyiv, spraying their troops and columns of armored vehicles, which were left without cover. Therefore, the Ukrainian defense severely defeated them. After that, Moscow focused its attention on the Donbass, and also changed its strategy. Now Russian troops rarely advance without strong cover. They usually carry out heavy artillery bombardments before the offensive.. And it doesn't matter that in the end Moscow only occupies the ruins. Ukrainian soldiers say the shelling lasts for about 5 days before the Russian army starts testing their defense lines with tanks and soldiers..

Fighting exhausted both sides. Ukrainian officials say daily casualties are in the hundreds. Western intelligence claims that the rate of death and injury among the military in Russia is similar. The Ukrainian army is increasingly relying on under-trained forces made up of territorial defense and National Guard fighters to replenish depleted units on the fronts.. Russia, on the other hand, makes up for losses with mercenaries from the Wagner group, Chechens, as well as recruited militants from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.. On Monday, Putin ordered the units involved in the occupation of Severodonetsk and Lysichansk to rest and " At this time, other formations were ordered to continue fighting. Moscow and Kyiv deny reports of deteriorating morale among their troops. They post motivational videos on social media to deny allegations of attrition to all who remain in the trenches.. And, despite the losses, the Ukrainian troops demonstrate their readiness to continue the fight at any cost..

" This is our land. That's all,"

But the bloody artillery war causes severe psychological trauma, as during the First World War, when the term " Ukrainian commanders fear that their soldiers are suffering from stress in addition to being injured or killed by enemy fire..

“During an artillery barrage, all you can do is lie in cover and wait for it to end.. Some people get mentally traumatized because of such shelling.. They turn out to be psychologically unprepared for everything they have to deal with,” said a platoon commander named Vladimir, who recently returned from the front in Donbass..

According to him, his unit lost one fighter, and two more were forced to leave the front due to mental trauma.. After more than four months of war, Ukrainians remain angry and defiant. But among the civilians, the mood is getting darker. Millions of them have been forced to move, have lost their jobs and live in fear. Some of them do not have adequate provision of food, water and electricity.. As Russia seizes more territory, losses mount and the end of the war is nowhere in sight, some Ukrainians accuse their government of downplaying challenges in order to improve morale.. Yulia Fedotovskikh, 32, from Kyiv, says there were many photos of dead Russian soldiers on social media at the start of the war.. And it helped her feel safe. Now she's just trying to avoid the news.

“I realized and resigned myself to the fact that I could die at any moment.. So I just live my life,"

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Meanwhile, the Russian army stepped up shelling of cities near the front line.. On Sunday, at least six people were killed in Slovyansk, and more than a dozen were injured after a Russian missile strike.. On Facebook, the mayor of the city, Vadim Lyakh, wrote that this was the worst Russian shelling since February 24, when the Russian invasion began.. On Monday, the head of the regional military-civilian administration of the Donetsk region, Pavel Kirilenko, also reported via a Telegram channel that Russian forces had killed 9 civilians in the region in the past 24 hours.. In his evening video message, President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Russia " But he again promised to return the lost territories.

In the south near Kherson, which is under Russian control, Ukrainian forces have made some small gains over the past month.. Military analysts say this gradual advance is a sign that a broader counteroffensive is coming.. But despite this, Ukrainian military officers downplayed the battles in the south and admitted that the main focus now is in the east..

Kyiv often calls for more Western arms and ammunition supplies. Some types of equipment, such as HIMARS artillery mounts, were successfully used at the front.. But long-term Ukrainian success requires significantly more weapons..

“There is a problem with ammunition. For example, one of our shots accounts for 50 enemy. How to deal with it? "

He noted that the situation has improved slightly, but " The publication notes that the Ukrainian army just has to switch to new weapon systems in the middle of the war.. Therefore, she found herself in a transitional state between Soviet weapons and the new Western. US and allies train Ukrainian military to use new systems outside of Ukraine. But the pace of this preparation is unsatisfactory.. In addition, some of the Ukrainian military, who had already received the necessary training, were injured or killed.. A Ukrainian officer working with M777 howitzers said several of his Latvian-trained artillery fellows had died or been wounded in action..

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“Enemy artillery works 24/7, and ours is able to do something three or four times a day.. And she might miss the mark. There are problems with adjusting fire,” said military medic Elena.

Both sides in Donbas cannot provide air support for ground forces. Russia and Ukraine have deployed significant air defense forces in the region.

So most planes and helicopters have to fly dangerously low to provide any support for the infantry.. So Russian forces are firing cruise missiles at key infrastructure facilities along the front line.. In recent days, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the Air Force conducted a dozen sorties in the south and east, destroying Russian equipment. Last week, a Ukrainian Su-24 flew over the treetops in Lysichansk. And this is a big rarity for Donbass.