Russia is close to its second major defeat since the Ukrainian counter-offensive near Kharkov. Ukrainian troops have almost surrounded the city of Liman in the Donetsk region and in the near future they can take a large group of Russian troops into the “cauldron”, writes Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the latest update.

Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine are located in the west, north and north-east of the Liman and have already taken under fire control the only line of communication of the Russian troops, which passes through the settlement of Torskoye. Experts predict that the loss of Liman will be extremely difficult for the Russian army and will jeopardize Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, previously captured by a large number of victims.

Ukrainian forces are already fighting in the southeast of the village of Kolodezi and on the outskirts of Torskoye, which is located only 12 km from Liman. Also, the Armed Forces of Ukraine broke through the Russian fortification near Yampol and are also advancing in the Torsky area from the southwest.

“The fall of the Liman “pocket” is likely to have very serious consequences for the Russian grouping in the north of the Donetsk region and in the west of the Lugansk region, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War warn. At the same time, they note that the Russian military leadership failed to create an informational background for an imminent defeat in Liman.

“The Russian Ministry of Defense did not talk about the latest Russian losses in the Liman area and was not prepared for the fall of this sector of the front, which is likely to worsen the already low morale,” experts state.

Exactly the same situation was before the largest defeat of Russia at the moment near Kharkov in September. After the unexpected breakthrough of the front, the Russian army was in a panic and fled, allowing the Ukrainian forces to free about 8 thousand square kilometers in less than a week. As a result, almost the entire Kharkiv region was de-occupied.

“The ensuing discontent in the Russian nationalist media space likely prompted the Kremlin to order partial mobilization,” ISW analysts said. They predict that the capture of Liman and the advance towards Lisichansk and Severodonetsk will increase discord between Russian nationalists and the military leadership, as well as troops and command. All this will take place against the backdrop of a “partial” mobilization announced by Vladimir Putin, which is a record since the beginning of the pension reform. dropped his rating and caused a sharp negative in society.