“The Russians continue to invade the city, having a significant artillery advantage, they have somewhat repulsed the Ukrainian troops,” Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, told the Telegram. “The Russians are destroying quarter after quarter,” Haidai said, adding that the Russian army was “partially successful overnight” and controlled 70% of the city. The destruction by a Russian forces of a bridge over the river Siverskyi Donets leaves civilians trapped with only one bridge left to escape west to the neighboring city of Lysychansk, which is also being bombed but remains in Ukrainian hands. Map “If after new bombings the bridge collapses, the city will be really cut off. “There will be no way to leave Sievierodonetsk by car,” Haidai said. There are fears that a scenario similar to the one seen in the southern port of Mariupol, where hundreds of people were trapped for weeks at the Azovstal steel plant, could happen at the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, where Haidai said 500 civilians were sheltered. these children. Haidai said that the Ukrainian side is negotiating the evacuation of civilians from Azot with Moscow, but so far has not reached an agreement. “We are trying to reach an agreement, with his help [Ukrainian deputy prime minister] “Irina Vereshchuk, the organization of a corridor, has so far been unsuccessful,” the official said. “Azot shelters are not as strong as in Azovstal in Mariupol, so we have to get people out with security guarantees.” Sievierodonetsk has become the focus of Moscow’s efforts to advance into eastern Ukraine, where Russia wants to occupy the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, collectively known as Donbass, following its failure to quickly occupy the Ukrainian capital, Ukraine. , at the beginning of the war. Ukrainian troops have been fighting side by side to retake the city, with Ukrainian and Russian forces suffering heavy casualties, Roman Vlashenko, head of the Sivierodonetsk regional administration, told local television. “Our boys are enduring, but the conditions are difficult,” he said. Vlashenko said the city had been without communications and regular services for a month. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Addressing his nation during his nightly video speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said forces in Sievierodonetsk were fighting for “every measure”. “The main tactical goal of the conquerors has not changed. “They are pushing in Sivierodonetsk, where fierce fighting is taking place – literally for every measure,” the president said, adding that the Russian army was trying to drop “poorly trained” reserves into Donbas. Zelensky: “Serious” battles in “literally every meter” of Sivierodonetsk – video The UK Department of Defense said in its latest intelligence report that river crossing operations are likely to be among the most important determinants of the course of the war. The main, 90-kilometer-long central section of the Russian front line at Donbas is located west of the Siverskyi Donets River, and in order to succeed in the current operational phase of its offensive, Russia “either has to complete ambitious side actions or carry out offensive offensives.” rivers “, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia suffered heavy casualties last month during multiple attempts to cross the river. In an attempt, Russia is believed to have lost more than 80 vehicles as a result of the Ukrainian fire, according to open source estimates. Also Monday, Amnesty International blamed Russia for war crimes in Ukraine, saying attacks – many using banned cluster bombs – on Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, had killed hundreds of civilians. “Repeated bombings of residential neighborhoods in Kharkov are indiscriminate attacks that have killed and injured hundreds of civilians and therefore constitute war crimes,” the rights group said in a report entitled “Anyone can die at any moment.” Reuters contributed to this report
