Russian forces have been able to make small gains in the Lysychansk region by taking parts of an oil refinery located on the outskirts of the city, the chief of military administration of the Luhansk region, Serhii Hayday, said Friday.
“The occupiers are attacking the oil refinery in Lysychansk, which controls the northwestern and southeastern parts of the plant,” Hayday said in a Telegram post.
big picture: The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said: “[Russia] focuses its main efforts on encircling our forces in the Lysychansk area from the south and west, and establishing full control over the Luhansk region.”
Hayday made a similar analysis.
“The enemy tries in vain to surround the Ukrainian army and attack Lysychansk from the south and west,” he said.
Russian forces also launched another attack on the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway, the main supply line to the city, but were repulsed by Ukrainian forces, Hayday added.
Within the city: The situation remains dire for the nearly 15,000 residents still in Lysychansk.
“The inhabitants of Lysychansk spent almost 24 hours in cellars and houses. The shelling of the city is very intense,” Hayday said. “Many residential houses and industrial facilities caught fire.”
Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, the Russian army also stepped up shelling on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.