The invaders planned to hold a pseudo-referendum in the occupied territories on September 11. Still, after the successful counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, it was postponed indefinitely.
The occupiers are accumulating equipment and troops in the Svatove region and consider those who retreated from the Kharkiv region to be deserters.
This was announced by the head of the Lugansk regional military administration Sergei Gaidai.
According to him, earlier, the invaders planned to hold a pseudo-referendum in the occupied territories on September 11. Still, after the successful counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, it was postponed indefinitely.
The head of the Military administration also added that the invaders turned off the Internet in the occupied territories, so the population of the occupied regions of the Luhansk region is isolated from the outside world.
He also clarified that the Russians continue to use educational institutions in the temporarily occupied territories to accommodate personnel and military equipment.
So, in Khomovka in the Svatovsky district, military equipment is located on the territory of the local agricultural lyceum, and enemy personnel is located in the buildings.
Gaidai noted that the invaders considered those who retreated from the Kharkiv region to be deserters, as invaders from the 202nd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Army Corps, who were forced to flee under pressure from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
After the defeat near Kharkiv, Russian troops established a new line of defense - along the Oskol River and Svatovo in the Luhansk region. This is one of the few supply routes for the Russian grouping of forces from the Belgorod region in eastern Ukraine that the enemy still controls. At the same time, Western analysts doubt the ability of the Russians to hold their positions.
- The Institute for the Study of War drew attention, based on the Russian bloggers' testimony, that the Oskol group was not receiving reinforcements. Part of the troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation defeated by Ukraine; the Russian command transferred further to the Donetsk region. Therefore, analysts say the enemy will not be able to conduct a long-term defense.