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In the end of June, Russian-led forces accelerated their advance in the strategic area of Severodonetsk-Lisichansk. So far, the Ukrainian military command has lost the last chances to evacuate the remaining units from the city of Lisichansk. All the roads leading to it are under fire control of Russian artillery. Some separate groups of Ukrainian servicemen are attempting to flee towards Seversk by the fields. Meanwhile, the assault units of Russian forces entered Lisichansk and fighting broke out on the streets. According to the Ambassador of the Luhansk People’s Republic to the Russian Federation, the forces of the LPR and Russia already control 50% of the city of Lisichansk. Russian units are advancing from Volcheyarovka along the Oktyabrskaya avenue and from the village of the Matrosskaya mine along the Heroes of Stalingrad. At the same time, the trap around the city is closing. To the north, Russian-led forces took control of the town of Privolie located on the north-western outskirts of the Severodonetsk area. The advancing units crossed the Seversky Donets River and established a foothold on the right bank on June 28th. Then, launched a mop up operation in the town, which fell in a day. On June 29th, Russian forces took control of the entire industrial area of the Lisichansk Oil Refinery located to the west of the city of Lisichansk. This was one of the main military bases of Ukrainian units in the area. As a result of several days of clashes, Ukrainian ranks suffered heavy losses. Suffering strategic losses in the Donbass region, Ukrainian forces attempt to achieve any gains in the Black sea area. After several attempts to repel Russian forces from the Zmeiny Island, the Ukrainian military reportedly succeeded on June 29th. Satellite imagery showed that military assets of Russian forces on the island were shelled. The pier was damaged. The Russian military withdrew the garrison stationed on the island. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed this was a step of goodwill aimed at demonstrating to the world community that Moscow does not hinder the efforts of the UN to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of grain from the territory of Ukraine. On the same day, in the Zaporozie region, the largest exchange of prisoners of war since the beginning of the Russian operations took place near the town of Kamenskoye. 144 Ukranian prisoners of war were exchanged for 144 Russian servicemen. Despite the claims of the Russian military that members of the Ukrainian nationalist battalions would not be exchanged but would face trial, among those exchanged from the Ukrainian side were 43 wounded Azov militants including those from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
