The surgical department of the hospital in the Russian-occupied town of Starobilsk in Luhansk Oblast is closed off to the public as it houses dozens if not hundreds of wounded Russian soldiers, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Feb. 15.
As of Feb. 11, 20 trucks carrying wounded soldiers had been observed arriving at the hospital, suggesting an unusually high casualty rate in the area, the General Staff's evening briefing said.
Starobilsk lies approximately 55 kilometers east of the strategic cities of Svatove and Kreminna, where heavy fighting has been ongoing since Ukrainian forces liberated the neighboring area in October.
In the past several weeks, Russian attacks have intensified along this sector of the frontline, where Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhii Haidai said Russian forces had begun a major offensive.
This was backed up in a Feb. 8 update by Washingtin D.C.-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War, which agreed that a large-scale offensive had commenced in the area.
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