On February 27, 2022, a Russian pro-Russian militia flag and a separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) soldier outside the Oshad Bank branch of Stanitizalhansk in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.
Alexander Elmochenko | Reuters
According to local officials, Russian troops have blown up a bridge between the embarrassed Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk and another city across the river, blocking the possibility of a civilian evacuation route.
Severodonetsk has become the epicenter of the battle to rule Donbus in eastern Ukraine. Since the Kremlin unleashed the invasion on February 24, parts of the city have been shattered in some of the bloodiest battles.
Ukrainian and Russian troops were still fighting street by street on Sunday, said Serhiy Gaidai, Governor of Luhansk Oblast.
While Russian troops have occupied most of the city, Ukrainian troops continue to control industrial areas and chemical plants where hundreds of civilians are evacuated.
However, the Russians have destroyed the bridge over the Siverskyi Donets, which connects Siverskyi Donetsk and its twin city, Lysychans’k, Guydai said.
This leaves only one of the three bridges behind, reducing the number of routes that Ukrainian troops can use to evacuate civilians or retreat to the western position of the river.
In Lysychans’k itself, Russian bombardment killed a woman and destroyed four homes and a shopping center, Guydai said.
The head of the Sieviero Donetsk administration said that over one-third of the city is under Ukrainian army and about two-thirds are in the hands of Russia.
“Our (army) has a strong line of defense,” Oleksandr Stryuk told national television.
Cross the river
Moscow turned its attention to expanding control in Donbus, where pro-Russian separatists have dominated the territory since 2014, after being forced to reduce its original campaign goals after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine. I did.
Sieviero Donetsk is the last Ukrainian-owned city in Luhansk Oblast in Donbas, and its loss will be a serious strategic blow. The Russian victory will bring them much closer to one of the goals set by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he calls a “special military operation.”
Elsewhere, Russian cruise missiles have destroyed large bases in the Ternopil region of western Ukraine, including US and European weapons, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
The Governor of Ternopil said a rocket launched from the Black Sea in Chortkiv partially destroyed military installations and injured 22 people. Local officials said no weapons were stored there.
Reuters was not able to identify different accounts on its own.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized the United States and other countries for supplying Ukraine with weapons. Earlier this month, Putin said Russia would attack a new target if the West supplied Ukraine with long-range missiles for use in high-precision mobile rocket systems.
Ukrainian leaders have recently renewed their petition to Western nations to speed up the delivery of heavy weapons as Russian artillery bombards the east of the country.
According to Ukrainian staff, in the south and southwest of Severodonetsk, Russian troops fired mortars and artillery around many settlements. But it said Ukrainian troops repelled Russia’s attempts to move forward towards some communities.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the battlefield reports.
Ukrainian troops have proven to be more elastic than expected, but the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War has consistent Western support as it uses the last stock of Soviet-era weapons and munitions. I said I would need it.
President Putin states that Russia’s actions are aimed at disarmament and “blame” of Ukraine. Kieu and his allies call it a provocative war of aggression to occupy the territory.
Also, Russian-backed separatist Donetsk leaders in Donbus have no reason to pardon the two British citizens sentenced to death last week after being arrested while fighting for Ukraine. Stated.
On Thursday, a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic found Aiden Aslin, Sean Pinner, and Brahim Sadun of Morocco convicted of “mercenary activity” attempting to overthrow the republic.
The UK states that Aslin and Pinner are regular soldiers and should be exempt from prosecution for participation in hostilities under the Geneva Convention. Separatists say they have a month to commit a serious crime and appeal.
“There is no basis or precondition for making such a decision on amnesty,” Denis Pushilin was reportedly said by a Russian news agency.
Aslin’s family said he and Pinner were “not mercenaries, never mercenaries.”
