It’s been reported for days now that only one bridge remained open leading to the west side of the river, so it’s unlikely that much, if any, heavy equipment could be evacuated. Indeed, the likelihood is of large numbers of surrendering Ukrainian troops.
Cue the wild accordion music and dancing Chechens:
Next up …
Putin understands that this is an existential struggle. No point even in a ceasefire in place, much less with withdrawal.
This seems like a good place to include a discussion of Russian tactics, courtesy of Will Schryver:
The Russians spent the previous month carving Ukrainian forces in the Donbas into relatively small, isolated concentrations of troops. Then they proceeded to savage them with massed artillery 24/7.
Now they are methodically advancing their mobile infantry into the shattered remnants under an umbrella of low-level close air support and drone-corrected precision artillery strikes.
Consequently, the demoralized Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering en masse.
Western mainstream media has, for three months now, fed its audience a never-ending clown car parade of utterly clueless “expert military analysts” who have spun fairy tales of super-hero Ukrainian “freedom fighters” and comically inept Russian conscripts.
That narrative is now souring as rapidly as the cream of the AFU in the Donbas.
No doubt much fighting remains – particularly in the Odessa region as Russia consolidates the entire Black Sea coast of Novorossiya. But the final outcome of this war is no longer in question.
After a sometimes uncertain start, the Russians have rapidly adapted their tactics and are now systematically routing Ukrainian forces across the entire front, including the ill-advised Ukrainian “counter-offensive” north of Kharkov, which is now being torn apart.
It is my considered opinion that, for many years to come, this war will be widely studied in war colleges around the world as a definitive example of expertly prosecuted 21st century urban warfare.
Perhaps most significantly, looking forward to potential NATO/Russia conflict, the Russian military has quickly evolved into a battle-hardened and surprisingly nimble and quick-to-adapt fighting force. The US has not faced such a force since WW2.
As for Slavoviansk, wher is the breakout from Lyman through the Sviati Hory forest.
On May 30, the Defence Staff of the Donetsk People’s Republic confirmed that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the DPR People’s militia took control over the villages of Dibrova and Stary Caravan.
After the town of Krasny Liman came under the DPR control, Russian-led forces continued their advance to the west towards the city of Slavyansk, which is one of the main strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the region. LINK
By now, DPR and Russian troops have approached the city of Raygorodok, which is located 12 kilometers from Slavyansk. The Ukrainian positions in the area have been shelled by the artillery.
Clashes continue on the northern bank of the Seversky Donets River, and Russian-led forces have are yet to cross the river. The bridge in the area was destroyed by the retreating AFU units more than a week ago.
Here are Spetznaz (Russian special forces) in mop-up outside Lyman
Econophysics2020 