Russian forces now control two-thirds of the key Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, a local official confirmed Saturday, as fighting still raged in its eastern industrial zone.
“The situation remains difficult,” said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region. “Fighting continues, but unfortunately, most of the city is under Russian control. Some positional battles are taking place in the streets.”
The takeover of Luhansk, which makes up the Donbas along with the neighboring Donetsk region, has become Russia’s primary objective since its forces were repulsed from the capital of Kyiv.
The ongoing battle for Severodonetsk, the last unoccupied city in Luhansk, has become increasingly bloody in recent days.
Ukrainian forces there are fighting “for every house and every street,” Haidai said.
But he pushed back against a report that up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers and 500 civilians holed up in the city’s Azot chemical plant were surrounded by invading troops, calling the rumor “lies disseminated by Russian propagandists.”
Analysts at Britain’s Ministry of Defense said that Russian troops had failed to advance into the south of Severodonetsk, adding that “both sides are likely suffering high numbers of casualties.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Luhansk Region Police/Handout via REUTERS |
Ukraine remains in control of the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, the region's governor said on Saturday, after a Russia-backed separatist claimed 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters were also trapped there.
"The information about the blockade of the Azot plant is a lie," Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists, said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Our forces are holding an industrial zone of Sievierodonetsk and are destroying the Russian army in the town," he wrote.
Sievierodonetsk, a small city in the region, has become the focus of Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine and one of the bloodiest flashpoints in a war now into its fourth month. read more
Ukraine has said some 800 people were hiding in several bomb shelters underneath the Azot plant, including about 200 employees and 600 residents of Sievierodonetsk. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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