Russian forces plan to capture whole Luhansk region before Putin's election — intelligence

Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, the Russian Federation is seeking to keep the seized territories of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"Before the elections, they want to reach at least the administrative borders of the Luhansk region. To have at least some success, something like Avdiivka, maybe somewhere else in some direction. There are key points: Kupyansk, Lyman, and Avdiivka. Why Kupyansk and Lyman? To show that we managed to return the territories that Ukraine liberated after the start of full-scale aggression. Because it will be symbolic. This is an element that will be used very actively in information and psychological operations, actions, and the information space," Skibitskyi said.

In his opinion, the invading Russian forces will present Avdiivka as an "incredibly big strategic victory" before the elections.

• On February 17, the Defense Forces Command decided to withdraw units from Avdiivka and move to defense on more favorable lines.
• The commander of the Tavria direction, General Tarnavskyi, said that "a certain number" of Ukrainian defenders were taken prisoner by Russia during the retreat from Avdiivka.