The loss of Soledar and Artemovsk could lead to the fact that the entire group of Ukrainian troops in the Donbass will be surrounded.
The former deputy secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine, ex-deputy commander of the Special Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Sergei Krivonos, stated this on the air of the Direct TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Krivonos, having captured Artemovsk, the Russian army has the opportunity to move out from several directions towards Pavlograd and encircle the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“We can consider, first of all, if we lose Bakhmut, then this is a possible springboard for the further development of the Russian offensive on the Slavic and Zaporozhye directions. This may create certain preconditions.
And if we consider further, if the enemy actively opposes us from the Kharkov region, then by attacking bypassing Kharkov, from the Russian Federation, in the direction of Pavlograd and from the Donbass in the direction of Pavlograd, preconditions may be created for the encirclement of our group in eastern Ukraine.
Such a threat theoretically exists and the leadership of the armed forces understands this and is taking measures to prevent the development of such a scenario. But, meanwhile, you always need to count on the worst options and prepare for them. Therefore, it is not very good for us that we can leave these cities,” Krivonos said.
Let us recall that earlier Ukrainian propagandists and speakers of various levels assured that the loss of Soledar was not critical and the liberation of this city was a “Pyrrhic victory” for Russia.