The fighting is taking place a few kilometers from the most important Ukrainian defense hub
The main fighting in the LPR is unfolding near Severodonetsk. On March 6, the advancing troops approached it by 7 km and took the city and neighboring settlements into a semi-circle. From the east, from the side of Novoaydar, the forces of the Luhansk People's Republic are advancing on it. The Russian army operates to the north. On the same day, the first large convoy of the Russian Emergencies Ministry arrived in Lugansk with urgently needed humanitarian aid. About the course of the key offensive and the establishment of life in the rear — in the report of the correspondent of "Izvestia".
On the direction of impact
According to the LPR fighters operating in the direction of Smolyaninovo, the enemy is well entrenched on the outskirts of Severodonetsk and is even trying to counterattack. Defenders of the People's Republic note the accurate fire of tanks, but criticize the low accuracy of Ukrainian artillery fire. APU drones are often spotted in the air. On Saturday alone, anti-aircraft gunners shot down three drones here. It is not without losses, but the soldiers are sure that there are more of them on the opposite side. They say that Russian aviation helped them a lot. As in the area of Happiness, enemy armored vehicles are actively captured here and immediately put into action.
- Previously, three of these BMP-1s belonged to the 93rd mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, - shows a short militia with the call sign "Tetris". - Now one is under repair, two are working. They are technically no different from ours, the guys sat down and drove. But they are stuffed with American equipment: navigation, radio stations. The captured tanks are also as good as new after major repairs.
A separate item of pride of the battalion is the newest Ukrainian armored car "Cossack" taken intact. These were recently demonstrated at the Kiev parade in honor of the Independence Day of Ukraine. Now on it, as on the rest of the captured equipment, the letter Z.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov
Image source: iz.ru
Between Stanytsia Luhanska and Novoaidar, the APU mostly threw equipment. Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers are still being evacuated from there. This work is almost finished, except for the only Ukrainian T-64, which is deeply bogged down in a roadside ditch. It has not yet been possible to pull it out even with the combined efforts of three other captured tanks harnessed by a zug.
Closer to Severodonetsk, near Smolyaninovo, traces of serious fighting are visible. There are twisted piles of metal near the highway — the wreckage of three T-64 APU tanks. One of them is torn apart due to the detonation of ammunition, the other is completely burned out. The latter also shows combat damage. There is also a destroyed truck in Ukrainian pixel camouflage.
- During the retreat, the Ukrainian armed forces are emptying grocery stores, medical institutions and pharmacies in populated areas, - says the deputy commander of the LPR People's Militia battalion with the call sign "Grumbler". — As a result, the local population is on the verge of a huge humanitarian crisis. They have neither bread nor medicines. I know people who need dialysis, they need to be taken out urgently, to provide assistance. There is no electricity, and pumps in wells do not work without it. Cold. Only stove heating saves people.
The fate of Trekhizbenka
One of the villages most severely affected in the fighting is Trekhizbenka, which was recaptured from Ukraine in the first days of the special operation. Despite its name, the village is rather big. Until 2014, almost 3 thousand people lived here. Then the demarcation line ran right along its outskirts. Having blown up the bridge over the Seversky Donets, the APU built a strong point next to it. And right at the extreme huts, a checkpoint was equipped. They didn't leave here without a fight.
Although there are untouched streets in the village, some do not seem to have an intact house left. Some were only hit by shrapnel, others burned completely. Shells flew into the very center, damaging the medical center and the administration. A large beautiful temple nearby was also damaged. There were no direct hits, but several close breaks broke windows and left deep cracks on the red brick walls, twisted the neat fence.
Local residents say that the AFU soldiers from Kharkiv standing here treated the population normally, but the nationalist battalion "Aidar" caused a lot of grief.
- Those from Aidar took cars, offended people very much. Who collaborated with them, I think they are also traitors—" local resident Nadezhda Makushenko says with tears. — A new Gazelle was taken from my son, a paramedic. Most - hands behind his back and a bag on his head. I went and drove every day, begging him to let him go. They returned only a few days later, beaten, with a hemorrhagic stroke. He was treated already in the LPR. The car was never given away.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov
Image source: iz.ru
It took several days to restore, according to a temporary scheme, the bridge destroyed by Ukrainian troops leading to the village. The blown-up span was covered with gravel and rubble. Now not only military equipment can pass here, but also vehicles with humanitarian supplies, as well as emergency services.
Since the liberation, the power supply has not yet been restored here. It seems that the whole village came together to the center of Trekhizbenka to meet the first cars with the help and to reissue documents. An improvised mobile phone charging point is also organized at the store where humanitarian bread is distributed. A rattling generator through a variety of extension cords and timers powers both modern smartphones and push-button "babushkophones". The latter are noticeably more. There are very few young people among the population of the previously frontline village.
Another problem is the lack of fuel. A long line of signed canisters was lined up at the village council. The men hope that gasoline will also be included in the help. Now bicycles and tillers have become the main means of transportation here.
Three trucks with the numbers of the People's militia of the LPR delivered the aid sent by the Voronezh region. A platoon of fighters quickly unloads bottled water, boxes of stewed meat and sweets for tea, bags of flour. Now the village has to rely entirely on humanitarian supplies. He is not alone in this position. Due to the rupture of the usual logistics schemes and the bridges blown up by the APU across the Seversky Donets, the delivery of any goods to the liberated territory is very difficult.
On the afternoon of March 6, the first large convoy with humanitarian aid from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations arrived in Lugansk. There are 17 large white KAMAZ trucks in it, familiar to residents of the LPR and DPR from previous years. In total, they delivered 130 tons of food and water, which will be immediately distributed to the settlements in need. But more needs to be done. The issue of restoring electricity, gas and water supply is still acute.
Anton Lavrov