Russia gains in the east, threatening to overrun Luhansk

The prospect of a Russian takeover of the embattled cities, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, left Ukrainian commanders with the stark choice to stay and fight, risking severed supply lines and the encirclement of thousands of defenders, or withdraw and forfeit the last major urban centers in Luhansk, part of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.

For weeks, the Russians had been content to lay back and fire artillery and rockets on the Ukrainian forces before trying to push forward with tanks and troops. This strategy culminated in an apparent breakthrough Wednesday as the Russians seized three strategic villages, the regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, conceded.

From the villages — Mirna Dolina, Podlisne and Toshkivka — the Russian troops have gained higher ground to fire on Lysychansk, including with shorter-range artillery…

While the villages are small, their collapse within days of one another amounts to a significant breach in Ukraine’s defenses, bringing Russian forces to the doorstep of Lysychansk and threatening the dwindling supply routes into the city.