Vladimir Putin changed tactics. Troops are now being moved from south to east Ukraine.

Lysychansk was the last Ukrainian-controlled city in the eastern province of Luhansk.

It could now end up in Russian hands in the next few days. It reports The New York Times.

There was currently fierce fighting around the city with just under 100,000 residents. In addition, the frequency and force of Russian artillery strikes on the city increased, the newspaper wrote.

British intelligence confirms the progress Twitter. On Saturday morning, they wrote that Russian troops were gradually approaching the city.

If Ukraine loses Lysychansk, Russian separatists will control all major cities and villages in the Luhansk province. Prior to the invasion in February, half the province was under Russian control.

Securing control of the provinces is part of a change in tactics for Russian troops. This week, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s focus had shifted from constantly taking Ukraine’s new territory to “waiting on the West.” It reports the Russian news agency between fax.

The change in tactics has led to a major movement of troops from south to east Ukraine.

Luhansk and Donetsk together form the eastern region of the Donbas. Since 2014, parts of the territory have been controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

Ukraine strikes back in the south

But the troop transfer came at the expense of Russia’s offensive power in southern Ukraine.

Now Ukraine has the initiative.

After heavy bombardment, Ukrainian forces this week recaptured the strategically important “Snake Island”. The island is located outside the port city of Odesa and is important as a base for Russian air defense and maritime target systems.

The Ukrainian army also claims they are close to recapturing Kherson. It is the only provincial capital outside of Luhansk and Donetsk that is now under Russian control.

The Ukrainian army is now only four kilometers from the city. On Thursday, they fired missiles at 150 strategic targets in the city, according to the Ukrainian army. This has not been confirmed by independent sources, but data from NASA satellites have recorded a number of fires on suspected bombed targets.

While regular Ukrainian troops tried to encircle Kherson, resistance was resisted by the remaining Ukrainian civilians inside the city. They tried to take out Russian separatist leaders, assist the Ukrainian military in sabotage operations and identify Ukrainian artillery targets.

Uncertainty about loss

There has been speculation in some quarters about how much damage the Russian defense has suffered.

On Saturday morning, Ukraine’s defense published an overview of Russia’s losses so far in the war. There they claim that since the start of the war, Russia has lost nearly 36,000 troops. But this number and other numbers cannot be verified now.

Britain’s defense chief said this week that they estimated Russia had lost 25,000 troops so far in the war. This is the highest estimate so far announced by Western officials.

Russia hasn’t even released a loss figure yet.

Questions have been raised about how much Russia could suffer in a war, before Putin was forced to reconsider his strategy.

Moreover, it has been claimed that Russia is running out of weapons in Ukraine. Bloomberg discussed on Friday a bill from the Kremlin stating, among other things, that Russian troops in Ukraine have a short-term “increasing need for repairs of weapons and military equipment”.