Fight for "dead cities" in Ukraine: Military experts recognize risky strategy

Created: 06/19/2022, 06:10

By: Yasina Hipp

The fighting is particularly heavy in Sievjerodonetsk and Mariupol, although the cities are considered almost lost.

Behind this is probably a dangerous strategy on the part of the Ukrainian side.

Sieverodonetsk - "Fighting for complete control of Sieberodonetsk continues," Serhiy Hajday, military governor of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, said a few days ago via Telegram.

These words may seem surprising given the current situation and the constant reports of heavy fighting and casualties in the Ukraine conflict.

The situation around Sievjerodonetsk in eastern Ukraine is particularly tense.

Again and again Ukrainian officials report that they are repelling Russian attacks, but there are also increasing reports that the Russian attackers are taking over the area more and more.

According to Ukrainian authorities, about 80 to 90 percent of the Donbass is now under Russian control in the Russia-Ukraine war.

So why does the fighting continue so fiercely in these cities?

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Ukraine war: Zelenskyy calls Sievjerodonetsk a "dead city"

In Sievjerodonetsk, about 80 kilometers north-east of Luhansk, fighting between the Russian attackers and the Ukrainian armed forces is smoldering.

Serhij Hajdaj recently reported that although many Russian soldiers were being killed, they were always being replaced by new ones.

In view of the current situation, it is also impossible to rescue the civilians hidden in the bunkers under the almost completely destroyed Azot steelworks.

Despite this, the Ukrainian troops are sticking to their strategy and fighting on in Sievjerodonetsk, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the "dead city".

The Russians fight badly in the streets.

We can hold out there for a long time and inflict casualties on them.

Mykhailo Podoliak, Presidential Advisor of Ukraine.

Military experts explain the strategy behind it to the

.

The Ukrainians tried to engage the troops of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin in street fighting.

This is also confirmed by the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak to the US newspaper.

He says: “The Russians fight badly in the streets.

There it is possible for us to move freely and seek shelter.

This minimizes the losses.

We can hold out there for a long time and in turn inflict losses on the Russians.”

Ukraine war: Ukrainian troops rely on street fighting - high risk

The Ukrainian armed forces were already using this tactic in the towns and villages around the capital Kyiv - that's where the strategy worked at the beginning of the war.

Gustav Gressel, Ukraine expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, also recognizes the effectiveness of the strategy.

He told the Swiss newspaper

: "If the Ukrainians manage to engage them in a street fight, the probability increases that the Russians will suffer losses that they cannot afford." However, this approach can also quickly become risky.

Namely as soon as the Ukrainian soldiers are surrounded and locked in the cities.

An escape is then hardly possible.

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Nevertheless, according to experts, the street-fighting strategy must be pursued further, since the Ukrainians lack heavy weapons to be able to defend themselves against Russian artillery attacks.