On Wednesday, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko called for the evacuation of all 350,000 citizens in his province after Russian forces increased their offensive in eastern Ukraine following the capture of Ukraine’s last stronghold in the Luhansk region, Lysychansk, on Sunday.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai claimed that Russian forces are using scorched-earth tactics and “burning down and destroying everything on their way,” vowing, “We will return. We will rebuild everything.” However, he maintained that Russia did not control the entire Luhansk region, saying, “Fighting still keeps going in two villages” and also that Moscow had suffered “colossal losses.”
Загальні бойові втрати противника з 24.02 по 07.07 орієнтовно склали / The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 07.07 were approximatelyhttps://t.co/r737o6ZVdf pic.twitter.com/gnTD5FU5e6
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) July 7, 2022
About 15,000 people are living in bomb shelters in Russia-controlled Luhansk and 8,000 in nearby Severodonetsk. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Iryna Vereshchuk confirmed that Russian forces were taking Lysychansk citizens to filtration camps and that their fate remains “difficult,” saying that they are beaten, tortured and “are carefully checked for patriotism or belonging to the armed forces.”
After gaining complete control over the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu that those units “should rest and build up their combat capabilities.” He also stated that the eastern and western Russian forces “must carry out their tasks according to the previously approved plans.”
Sad symbolism.
— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) July 6, 2022
Russia’s war was unleashed in 2014 in Slovyansk. And now it may basically end in that city, too. If Russia fails to take it and destroy the UKR grouping, it will not be able to win the Battle of Donbas.
And this would have a massive impact on the whole war. pic.twitter.com/ZYnGGqUIjG
In this respect, Russia is now focusing on the city of Slovyansk in its struggle to control the Donetsk region, as it was heavily bombarded for the last few days and 23,000 out of 110,000 were left to be evacuated. However, Slovyansk Mayor Vadym Lyakh asserted, “The city is well fortified. Russia does not manage to advance to the city.”
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces are “trying to improve [their] tactical position...[They] advanced [...] before being repelled by our soldiers and retreating with losses” en route to Slovyansk. They also tried to capture two villages on their way to Kramatorsk, which lies almost deserted to the south of Slovyansk, and tried to take control of the main highway that links Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. “They will continue to try to advance on Slovyansk and Bakhmut. There is no doubt about that,” Haidai told Ukrainian TV.
(1/5) On 06 July 2022, heavy shelling continued along the Donetsk front line, but with few advances being made by Russia. Russian units involved in last week’s gains are now likely re-constituting.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 7, 2022
Additionally, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that the country’s second-largest city is being targeted again with “constant” long-range Russian shelling. He said it is an attempt to “demoralise Kharkiv but it won’t get anywhere,” while Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych revealed that there are no “safe areas” in his city due to heavy shelling and missile strikes.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia did not declare any territorial gains for the first time since the invasion began, appearing to consolidate its Luhansk position. The Ukrainian Southern Command noted that Russia has expanded its Black Sea fleet by adding five missile carriers, two submarines, and one amphibious assault ship shortly after withdrawing from Snake Island, which Moscow claimed to be a “gesture of goodwill.”
Zelensky's latest remarks show pessimism about receiving Western aviation even though Slovakia has hinted at supplying MiG jets
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) July 6, 2022
Ukraine's main means of securing its skies from Russia runs through NATO standard air defence systems
Meanwhile, it deployed ‘Stupor’ electromagnetic guns against Ukrainian drones for the first time. “The need for these portable counter-drone systems became obvious in the wake of a large number of drones and various small copters used by the Ukrainian military,” a Russian source disclosed, adding that they were successfully used in western Donetsk. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov refuted Ukrainian allegations that Russia was attacking its own cities, saying, “In a word, they are lying.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry stated that its forces had destroyed two High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARs), which were supplied to Ukraine by the United States (US), and released video footage of the attack. However, the Ukrainian General Staff rejected these claims, calling them “fake” and in fact declared that it was using HIMARS to serve “devastating blows” to Russian forces.
Russia cannot produce new missiles because of sanctions, but it has a bunch of old ones. Our partners have anti-missile defense systems, but RF continues to terrorize our cities every night. There is no escalation in giving anti-missile defense systems to 🇺🇦 #AirDefenceForUkraine pic.twitter.com/mlnW0yW6Cm
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) July 6, 2022
In this respect, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that the Western weapons have “started working very powerfully,” which will increase the losses of the Russian troops. “Its accuracy is exactly as needed,” he noted, adding that it “significantly reduces the offensive potential of the Russian army.” Zelensky also emphasised the importance of receiving advanced air defence systems for the “safety of the sky” and to protect Ukrainians from Russian missile strikes.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) announced that almost nine million Ukrainians have left the country since the Russian invasion began on February 24. Furthermore, Ukrainian prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova revealed that almost 21,000 alleged Russian war crimes are being investigated. She admitted that though most trials were being conducted in absentia, it is “a question of justice” to continue with the prosecutions.