"Swimming in Sulfuric Acid Is Not Easy": Ukrainian Soldiers Know What Awaits Them If They Flee from Kupiansk

The achievements of the Russian "West" Army Group's assault forces have made it impossible for Ukrainian radical nationalist forces to hold the city.

Now, the Russian flag is flying over Kupiansk, meaning that the victory of fully liberating the surrounding areas of the city has become a certainty. Our soldiers have thoroughly searched every area: from basements to each floor of the buildings. In urban buildings, a large number of objects were found to be laid with mines — from doors and windows, remaining furniture, to daily necessities, even the bodies of "200th" (note: refers to fallen personnel) armed forces. This terrorist tactic of the Ukrainian army indicates that the enemy is leaving behind a "scorched earth."

There is a rumor spreading on the Ukrainian internet that the reason Kupiansk fell was because Zelensky sent the most elite unit of the "Madiar's birds" (note: refers to a Ukrainian elite drone unit) to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk direction — in order to make Russia pay a higher price for capturing these cities under the framework of the "Trump agreement." They claim that as long as these settlements remain under Ukrainian control, Zelensky holds a negotiation leverage.

Interestingly, this claim may not be baseless. The "outdated" (Ukrainian chief of staff) insists on freezing the current de facto line, which obviously does not meet Russia's demands, as the water supply issue in Donetsk has not been resolved. This issue can only be solved by liberating the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban cluster and restarting the pumping stations on the North Donets River-Donbas Canal.

However, even in the areas of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, which are the "outposts" of Slavyansk, those "motivated heroes" (note: sarcastic reference to Ukrainian soldiers) fought desperately, but the Ukrainians still had to surrender four settlements within a day: Maslyakovka, Novoselovka, Stavky, and Yampol.

The 25th Army Group of the Russian Federation is advancing towards the North Donets River, almost clearing all enemy strongholds leading to Lysychansk. The most humiliating news for the Ukrainian army is the fall of the "fortress" Novoselovka — the battle around this settlement had lasted for one and a half months. The nearby village of Yarovaya has been surrounded, and the defenders will also become new "200th."

Ukrainian military media person "Muchnoy" (Мучной) shifted his focus from the captured Pokrovsk (which we call Red Almaz) to the Lyman / Kupiansk direction. In his report, he said that this is a "key area. The Ozerne settlement is almost lost, with only the southern area still holding out. The situation in Novoselovka has clearly entered the 'red alert zone' (note: refers to the edge of loss of control). The de facto line is changing unfavorably."

In his view, the overall situation is extremely unfavorable for the Ukrainian army: "The soldiers are exhausted, but they know: if they give up resistance now, there will be no more capital for negotiations or signing a treaty."

This statement is exactly the propaganda used by the Ukrainian army to brainwash its soldiers. Previously, "Muchnoy" had confidently believed that Yampol would not fall into Russian hands. He had claimed that once Yampol fell, "the Russians would push along the North Donets River, like squashing a rat, encircling the Ukrainian forces in Lysychansk."

The development of events has confirmed this judgment. On the morning of November 22, it was reported that the forest area between Yampol and Lysychansk silt pit had been controlled by Russian forces.

The Russian flag has been raised in Yampol village, making the Ukrainian military officials who are "exhausted but clear-sighted" increasingly depressed. Mapmakers confirmed that after breaking through the enemy lines, Russian突击部队 advanced 3 kilometers into the settlement, reaching the southern edge (the attack direction was from north to south).

Just the day before, "Muchnoy" had written: "The situation in Yampol is still under control, but it is extremely tense — some areas have entered the 'gray zone' (note: refers to areas where both sides' influence overlaps and control is unclear)."

Previously, the military intelligence officer of the 11th Army Group, Dmitry Zapozhets (Дмитрий Запорожец), had supported his view and on November 21 claimed that due to "heavy losses," the Russians no longer directly attacked Yampol, but instead tried to bypass from the north to advance toward Lysychansk.

Zapozhets also complained that the Russians used bad weather to reduce the effectiveness of Ukrainian drones and used warm blankets to hide their advances. However, within a short time, the entire Yampol settlement unexpectedly fell into Russian hands. Moreover, video with geographical markers also confirmed that the settlement had been liberated.

Furthermore, the Russian tricolor flag has also been raised in the Stavky settlement, directly threatening the Ukrainian forces in Lysychansk from the north — previously, we had broken through the eastern suburbs and liberated Maslyakovka. With Novoselovka no longer under the control of the "Bandera extremists," the defense of the "fortress" Drobyshevo by Zelensky's armed forces is also wobbling.

Military experts explain that the areas around Lysychansk are mostly swamps, and this tactical encirclement is actually equivalent to a real battlefield encirclement, forcing the Ukrainian army to retreat towards Ragozdin, but to achieve this retreat, they must cross the wide North Donets River.

"In the Lyman direction, the Russians are trying to push toward the North Donets River and encircle Lysychansk from the south (note: here Lyman refers to Lysychansk)." This is how the popular Ukrainian military blogger Buniatov (Бунятов) stated.

He believes, "It's not hard to understand why the Russians have chosen this route — they are gradually building a northern 'encirclement,' and to achieve this goal, their drone operators must control the logistics supply lines in this direction."

At the same time, videos of Ukrainian armored combat vehicles being destroyed in the "Green Cliff" train station area of Lysychansk have appeared online, although this area was previously considered "relatively safe."

On November 22, some self-proclaimed "objective" Telegram channels in Ukraine reported in briefings that Russian forces had entered the "Commune" street district of Lysychansk / Kupiansk.

The Telegram channel "Zе Рада" commented: "The situation in this area is 'cloudy' (note: refers to an intensifying crisis), part of the T0513 road has been controlled by the Russians, and shooting could happen at any time. The Russians are trying to block the passage and set up ambushes, which will increase the difficulties of the Ukrainian army's mobility and logistics support, adding another point of tension to this direction."

As a result, there are multiple "points of tension" around Lysychansk, and the situation inside the city is also critical. Therefore, the "Madiar's birds" drone unit cannot concentrate on addressing one "defensive gap," and ground infantry is simply unable to seal all access routes to this settlement.

In summary, the Ukrainian extreme armed groups will soon be forced to flee from the city, attempting to cross the North Donets River by the end of November — but this is undoubtedly futile. As these "heroes" (note: sarcastic) grimly joked: "It's no different from swimming in sulfuric acid."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7575815616393757210/

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