Guest
While front lines in Eastern Ukraine are burning, another battle is gaining momentum in the capital. The Kiev regime seems to face another crisis between the military and political leadership in the country. Joint forces of the Donetsk, Luhansk People’s Republics and Russia claim new victories in the Donbass. After the Severodonetsk-Lisichansk metropolitan area came under control of the LPR, Russian-led forces achieved significant successes in their advance to the west. In the direction of Seversk, the town of Verhnekamenka became the stronghold of Russian units which will attack Seversk from the east. In the morning on July 6, the advancing forces aligned the front and claimed control of the village of Spornoe located to the south of Verhnekamenka. At the moment, the mop up operation continues. Retreating Ukrainian units are shelling the village with artillery. The Russian advance was acknowledged in the evening summary by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which claimed Russian forces “had partial success in the area of the village”. This gain allows the Russians to attack Zvanovka and blockade Seversk from the southern direction. Russian units are also approaching Seversk from the north-eastern direction. The offensive is developing on the right bank of the Seversky Donets River in the direction of Grigorovka and Serebryanka. In the other regions, heavy positional fighting continues. Suffering heavy losses on the front lines, the Kiev regime attempts to stop the outflow of civilians who can be conscripted into the military. However, it cannot decide on the necessary measures. Earlier, the Ukrainian General Staff declared a legislative ban on leaving their place of residence for men of military age without the permission of the military enlistment office during the period of martial law. On July 5, a bill has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada clarifying the procedure for the departure of conscripts and reservists from their place of residence within Ukraine. In turn, President Zelensky attempted to support his ruined reputation amid the unpopular regulation. On July 6, the President publicly demanded the General Staff not to take such decisions without him. “I instructed the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to report to me tomorrow all the details regarding the decision on the procedure. I ask the General Staff not to take such decisions without me in the future,” Zelensky said. Such claims are humiliating for the Ukrainian general commanders. Disagreements between the office of Vladimir Zelensky and the command of the Ukrainian army over the conduct of military operations have already been reported in the last months. In particular, the military reportedly believed that it was necessary to retreat on several fronts, while the president’s office insisted that no retreats were possible. As a result, the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered heavy losses in manpower on the front lines.
