Severodonetsk

Large, well-equipped Russian units encircled cities like Lysychansk and Severodonetsk.

However, when Russia fought fiercely to claim the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk last summer, Ukraine soon reclaimed swathes of territory elsewhere.

In May 2022, French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was working in Ukraine for BFM-TV, was killed near Severodonetsk in the east.

It has been a long time since the summer when Russian forces seized cities like Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

In June, however, Russia took Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, part of Putin’s push to capture the Donbas.