Andrii Illienko, an officer of the 3rd Battalion Svoboda of the 4th Rapid Response Brigade Rubizh, shared his opinions on Espreso TV.“You don’t need to be a great military strategist to understand that if there is a defensive line the Russians have been trying to break since the start of the full-scale invasion — over three and a half years — and still hasn’t succeeded, it is clearly a serious obstacle for them. I’m not even taking the political aspect into account,” Illienko said.According to the officer, the fourth year of the full-scale war is now ending, while the conflict as a whole has lasted twelve years, and during all this time Putin has still not been able to capture the entire Donbas. For him, of course, this is a huge humiliation. This is not only about politics or morals but also military: the network of fortifications built since 2014 plays a key role. It is clear that a similar defensive line cannot be quickly established in other parts of the front.“Therefore, everyone understands perfectly well: we must hold this defensive line because it holds the entire country. Donbas is an extremely important sector with strategic significance,” Illienko emphasized.The Russians have deployed a large number of professional units to the Lyman–Kupiansk sector, actively using equipment in an attempt to advance.