Russian troops plunge through Ukraine lines in Donbas as fighting enters decisive week

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Russian troops plunge through Ukraine lines in Donbas as fighting enters decisive week
By Neil Hauer
May 24, 01:55 PM
A Ukrainian serviceman walks by a building which was hit by a large caliber mortar shell in the frontline village of Krymske, Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

SOLEDAR, Ukraine — A month into Russia’s Donbas offensive, Moscow’s troops were still searching for a breakthrough. That may have finally arrived.

On May 18, Russian forces broke through Ukrainian lines west of the town of Popasna. Russia massed units there after capturing the town on May 8, preparing for a larger assault to drive into the open terrain to the west. Their primary objective appears to be cutting the highway leading from Bakhmut to the cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, the last remaining Ukrainian outposts in Luhansk Oblast and the scene of fierce urban fighting for weeks.

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SGT Charlie Lee PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] SSG William Jones Sgt (Join to see) SrA John Monette SFC (Join to see) SPC Michael Terrell SMSgt Anil Heendeniya CPL Douglas Chrysler A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney GySgt Jack Wallace CDR Andrew McMenamin, PhD SGT Mark Anderson