Ukraine: What will the Russians do after the fall of Lisitsansk

London, Thanasis Gavos

The emphasis of Russian military operations on Ukraine “almost certainly” will now shift towards its occupation Donetsk region after the fall of the last urban center in Luhansk province, the Lisitsanskestimates the British Ministry of Defence.

In the latest update on the developments in the war, the ministry states that the Ukrainian forces they left the citylikely to coordinate defensive positions, while fighting in the area has intensified in the last week.

It is noted that a large part of the territory remains in Donetsk province under Ukrainian control and it is estimated that for the persistent weeks the war of attrition raging there will hardly change.

From then on, the British ministry emphasizes that it is the harvest timewith the Russian invasion having “catastrophic” consequences for the Ukrainian agricultural sector.

The major disruption to the seed and fertilizer supply chain on which Ukrainian farmers rely is highlighted, while the ongoing maritime blockade of Odessa significantly limits grain exports.

“Ukraine’s agricultural exports unlikely to exceed 35% of 2021 total”, the British news reports.

The Russian claim that after the withdrawal of the invasion forces from Fidonisi in the Black Sea “the ball is now in Ukraine’s court” to increase grain exports is rejected. “It is actually Russia’s disruption of the Ukrainian agricultural sector that continues to demonstrate the global food crisis,” concludes the British Ministry of Defence.

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