The battle for the city of Svrodonetsk has become last week the most intense and important battlefield of the Russian campaign in the Donbass region, and in the whole of Ukraine, with the Kremlin hanging their jaws on success in conquering another city in eastern Ukraine to present the Russian public with a three-month victory.
At the beginning of last week, the Russians managed to occupy the entire city, except for the industrial area located in the west of the city, while the Ukrainians withdrew and prepared for protection from a bar to a river in the city of Lisichensk.
Despite Russian progress, they were unable to cut off access to the city or the battle zone and the Ukrainians realized that they had a golden opportunity to send reinforcements and prepare for a counterattack.
Among the forces sent to meet the Russians in the city, which had been shelled beyond recognition, were members of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, a gathering of fighters from many countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Georgia, Italy, Canada and Spain.
The fighters took part in the break-in of infantry forces into the territory of the city, after a large artillery blow from the direction of Lisichensk surprised the Russians and captivated them to their place.
According to various reports, the Ukrainian counterattack managed to liberate from the Russians between 50 and 75 percent of the city area and repel repeated attempts by the Russians to advance west.
The foreign fighters have been documented on social media as taking an active part in the fighting while armed mostly with small arms and unaccompanied by armor.
However, according to various reports, the losses to the foreign forces were heavy.
At least four dead fighters were identified, citizens of Australia, Germany, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and their photos were circulated on social media.
Canadian journalist Neil Hauer published a conversation with one of the fighters who said that his unit, a company of a missing size of 24 fighters, suffered 3 casualties and six wounded and was taken out of the fighting circle.
"But we succeeded, we pushed the Russians back. I believe the Ukrainian army will be able to hold the city and liberate it all," one of the fighters told the Canadian reporter.
General Mayor Roman Kozotov,
The foreign fighters have also been recognized by the Ukrainian establishment, which has so far refrained from directly addressing the role of the foreign fighters in the battles.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Mailer told Free Europe Radio: "These are foreign fighters who are an integral part of our armed forces, legally. They have already shown their capabilities in other battles and now they have been sent back to the hottest point in the fighting."
The fighting in Donbas took another interesting turn today when Russia first admitted that General Roman Kozotov, had been killed in fighting in the Luhansk region, apparently not far from the city of Sverdansk.
Kozotov was a general at the level of an army commander and his last job was to command the pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donbas region.
A state television statement said he fell while attacking the enemy with his troops although experts believe he may have been killed in the assassination of a buffalo attack on a rearguard headquarters.
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