A reconstruction of the Battle of Luhansk

It was expected after the Russian conquest of Sievjerodonetsk: after days of heavy fighting and ever-increasing pressure, the Ukrainian troops also withdrew from the twin city of Lysychansk at the weekend. This means that a sub-goal of the Russian offensive in the Donbass has been achieved: bringing the entire Luhansk region under control.

After more than four months of war in Ukraine, this is Vladimir Putin’s first major success. And this success is quite surprising in retrospect, because it comes after numerous setbacks for the Russian army: There was the failed advance on Kyiv and the retreat in northern Ukraine; the stalled offensive in southern Ukraine; the symbolic losses of the armored cruiser “Moscow” and recently of the island of snakes.

When the Donbass offensive began on April 18, the Russian army was seen as a chaotic bunch: poorly coordinated, plagued by morale problems, weakened by high casualties, and overwhelmed by even basic military-tactical maneuvers.