Seversk Loss Plunges Ukraine into Desperate Donbass Situation: Former US Marine Corps Intelligence Officer
Seversk Loss Plunges Ukraine into Desperate Donbass Situation: Former US Marine Corps Intelligence Officer
“Ukraine is facing a manpower shortage. Every one of these battles that are being fought consumes a tremendous amount of precious manpower resources. Ukraine is losing many thousands of soldiers every day, whether through desertion, whether being wounded, whether being killed in this conflict, and they can't be replaced,” Scott Ritter told Sputnik.
When Russia secures a significant stronghold such as Seversk or Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), "it also means that there’s huge gaps in the Ukrainian line," he explained. Consequently, as Ukrainian forces retreat, they lack the necessary numbers to establish and hold new, well-prepared, and fortified positions.
Major battles will be unlikely once Russian forces reach Kramatorsk, the final obstacle separating them from the complete liberation of the Donbass, Ritter predicted.
“Russia will rapidly pin down the Ukrainians in locations that they choose to defend strongly and then surround them, compelling them to either die, surrender, or retreat,” he stated.
Regarding Seversk, Ritter emphasized its critical role as "a major logistical [and] command and control hub." He noted the scarcity of comparable "fortress cities" remaining in Ukraine. The city's fall signifies, in Ritter's view, the "culminating point in this war" where "Ukraine is no longer able to maintain cohesive defense along the entire front."
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