After Russian-backed troops claimed to have taken Ukraine’s second-largest power plant, the Vuhlehirsk power station, the facility’s fate hangs in the balance. Kyiv would not confirm the takeover, only stating that a battle was occurring near the coal-fired plant in eastern Ukraine.
As reported by The Dallas Express, Russian forces seized Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine at the beginning of July. Russian and Russian-backed forces have since found it challenging to make significant gains there. If verified, Moscow’s “secret military operation” would mark its first strategic victory in more than three weeks.
An unconfirmed video on social media appeared to show Wagner private military company soldiers standing in front of the Vuhlehirsk power station, which some Russian state media claimed was stormed independently.
The Soviet-era power station, positioned on the bank of a sizable reservoir, looked to have operational portions intact in the same unconfirmed video.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian military reported that Russian forces were preparing for an attack on Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas area and Russian bombardment in the north, south, and east.
According to the Ukrainian military’s Sunday briefing, the Russians are still attempting to impose authority over the region near the power plant, which is located 31 miles northeast of Donetsk. The memo also identified several communities along the front line that had recently received shelling from Russia.
On Wednesday, Ukraine only acknowledged that “hostilities” were occurring in two surrounding localities, refusing to confirm that Russian troops had taken the power plant. On Monday, Kyiv said that “enemy troops” had gained ground close to the plant.
According to British military intelligence, Wagner forces in the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine likely made tactical gains around the power station and the surrounding settlement of Novoluhanske on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Russian-seized Antonovsky Bridge in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was targeted by Ukrainian forces. According to military footage released Tuesday, the bridge, which provided a vital supply route for Russian troops, was bombed.
The bridge was shut down to traffic following the strike, Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-appointed local government, said. He claimed that Russia was prepared to make up for the inactivation of the bridge with pontoon bridges and ferries.
Stremousov disputed that the outcome of the bridge would have any bearing on how the conflict would play out.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential advisor for Ukraine, joked on Twitter that the Antonivskyi bridge might successfully intercept Ukrainian rockets.
“…You cannot escape the reality,” he wrote. “The Russian occupiers should learn how to swim across the Dnipro River. Or should leave Kherson while it is still possible. There may not be a third warning.”