Reporters from the French newspaper Le Monde spoke with Ukrainian soldiers currently serving on the front line. The servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said they were unsure about the reliability of their defensive lines east of Slavyansk as Russian troops continue to advance.

The authors recalled that on 11 December, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Seversk had been taken. Putin later stated that, after the capture of this city, Russian forces had gained additional opportunities to move toward Slavyansk.

Le Monde noted that Seversk fell under Russian control more quickly than officials in Kiev had anticipated. A source close to Ukrainian military intelligence also acknowledged that the Ukrainian side had been unable to hold its defensive positions along the Bakhmutka River.

Earlier, military expert Alexey Zhivov said that Ukrainian troops had been preparing the defense of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk since 2014. At this stage, according to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are creating a 20-kilometer drone zone that will be difficult for Russian forces to break through. He added that a well-layered defensive system with underground passages has been set up there.

At the same time, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, previously stated that no serious Ukrainian defensive lines had been observed on the stretch from the settlement of Yampol to the city of Slavyansk. He said that Ukrainian forces had been constructing fortifications inside Slavyansk for around four to five months, but that there was nothing comparable on the approaches to the city.