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| Smoke is seen above buildings close to the airport on March 18, 2022 in Lviv, Ukraine |
Russian troops have managed to control more than 90 percent of Lugansk province and are likely to take control of the entire region within the next two weeks. Quoted from Defense View, the success of Russian troops in controlling Lugansk Province cannot be separated from the role of artillery fire.
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Lugansk and its neighboring province of Donetsk make up the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The Donbas region itself is famous as an industrial center area with many factories and coal mines. Experts judge that if Russia manages to gain complete control over the Donbas, it will be a big win for them.
With it, it allowed the formation of a corridor on Russia's western border to the Crimean peninsula. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are two of the last points in Lugansk where the Ukrainian military is located.
The British Ministry of Defense also said that if the Russians managed to achieve tactical success in the Donbas, how could they maintain the momentum and gain the upper hand over the Ukrainian side, thanks to artillery strikes. Looking at the Russian troop movement scheme, they will most likely prioritize for the next few weeks to take control of the city of Severodonetsk.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zekensky said his troops had successfully defended against the Russians in the city of Severodonetsk. "Heavy fighting is taking place there (Severodonetsk), including in neighboring cities such as Lyschansk and Bakhmut,".
A Donetsk governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko said that Russian troops were on full alert, 15 kilometers from the city of Sloviansk. He added that Donetsk would not be easily taken over by Russia, but also stressed the need for more weapons for Ukrainian troops. The Russian artillery strike that defeated the Ukrainian forces was the self-propelled 2S19 Msta-S.
The self-propelled 2S19 Msta-S is a 152 mm armored cannon paired with the hull of a T-80 tank and engines of a T-72 tank. Russian missile attack destroys Ukrainian arsenal. Russian cruise missile attack has reportedly destroyed 13 Ukrainian arsenals.
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Inside it is said to be the result of US weapons assistance, including M-777 artillery, Javelin anti-tank bazookas and thousands of other ammunition. The 406th Ukrainian Independent Artillery Brigade was attacked by Russian soldiers at an artillery base in the Zhovtneve region of Mykolaiv Oblast, Defense View reports. And 12 of the 13 warehouses were destroyed, 12 M-777 artillery pieces were destroyed, 90 soldiers were killed, 51 people were injured.
This news was believed after images shown from satellites showing 13 Ukrainian arsenals had been destroyed. Although there is no confirmation of when the incident occurred, a quick look at the satellite imagery makes it clear that the attack was relatively recent. Because the transfer of weapons such as the M-777 artillery from the US was only a few weeks ago.