File image.
On December 23, Ukraine finally acknowledged losing Siversk in Donetsk, as the Russian military continued to advance to the west and south of the key city.
The General Staff said in a statement that Ukrainian troops were pulled out from Siversk after a push by the Russian military, which had “numerical advantage” and maintained “constant pressure from small assault groups in difficult weather conditions.”
The decision to pull out the troops was taken to “preserve lives and resources,” the Ukrainian military command added, in its first comment on the defeat.
Russia’s military chief Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin that Siversk was captured by the Yug [South] Group of Forces during a meeting on December 11. Ukraine denied this at the time, despite the presence of visual evidence confirming that Russian troops were in control of all of the city.
The Ukrainian acknowledgment of the defeat came as the Russian military continued to expand its control around Siversk.
To the west of Siversk, the Yug Group of Forces captured a high area with a size of five square kilometers after the chalk quarry. Russian troops also advanced to the south of the city, more specifically between Sviato-Pokrovske and Pazeno, securing more than 20 square kilometers.
The capture of Siversk and later gains put the Yug Group of Forces in a solid position to start advancing northwest towards the city of Slovyansk.
Slovyansk is located at the intersection of major highways, rail lines, close to the Siverskyi Donets River, which makes it a critical logistical and defensive node for Kiev forces. The Yug Group of Forces will likely be joined by the Zapad [West] Group of Forces in the attack on the city.
The Zapad Group of Forces is already operating around the city of Liman, to the north of Siversk. It recently broke through Ukrainian defenses to the south of the city, and advanced northwest of Dibrova mainly towards the key road leading to Sloviansk.
Overall, Ukrainian defenses around Sloviansk could collapse next year within a few months under pressure from the directions of Siversk and Liman. The battle for the city will not likely begin, however, until Liman is fully secured by the Russian military. In any case, Kiev does not likely have sufficient resources to defend the city.
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