LUGANSK, January 20. /TASS/. Russian forces are advancing near the settlement of Novoyegorovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), which was liberated on January 20, with a plan to bottle up Ukrainian troops there inside a zone of no return, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.
"Attacks are coming from two directions, the Kopanki-Novosergeyevka area and the Novoyegorovka-Novosergeyevka area. <...> In fact, a so-called killzone is being prepared, and if Ukrainian militants fail to leave the area northwest of Nadiya in the near future, [they] will be completely surrounded," he said.
According to the expert, the Ukrainian battlegroup has already found itself in a very difficult position but Ukrainian soldiers still have time "to catch the last train." However, based on the rate of Russian advance in the area, there’s not much time left for the Ukrainian army to take action, Marochko noted.
In addition, he says that the liberation of Novoyegorovka has provided Russian forces with access to the western LPR border in the Svatovo and Kremennaya area.