The eastern Ukrainian city of Shevyerodonetsk has fallen completely into the hands of the Russian armed forces. The mayor of the city, Oleksandr Stryuk, announced this on Saturday, Reuters news agency reported. According to Reuters, the army command later confirmed that all Ukrainian soldiers have withdrawn.
“The city is now completely occupied by Russia,” said Mayor Stryuk. “They are establishing their own authority, as far as I know they have appointed some sort of commander.” According to the mayor, it is no longer possible to go to Ukrainian territory from Shevyerodonetsk.
The Azot factory has also been captured by Russian soldiers and their allies. Pro-Russian fighters make this known on Telegram, reports AFP news agency. On the site of the chemical company, Ukrainian soldiers have recently offered resistance and several hundred civilians have also been hiding. According to AFP, the pro-Russian fighters say those people have been “evacuated”, without making it clear where.
Read more about the battle for Shevyerodonetsk: Heavy shelling in eastern Ukraine, but the front barely moves
Earlier in the day, Mayor Strjoek already announced that his city had almost fallen. He said there were almost no Ukrainian soldiers left in Shevyerodonetsk, which had a population of 100,000 before the war and has been one of the main spearheads of Russia’s war effort in the eastern Donbas region in recent weeks due to its strategic location. On Friday, the governor of the Luhansk region, where Shevyerodonetsk is located, said the only real option was the withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers from the city.
Lysychansk, which is just south of Shevyerodonetsk and about the same size, is another important target for the Russians. The city is surrounded by Russian forces. Several suburbs have already been conquered. The troops withdrawn from Shevyerodonetsk are being used to try to stop the Russians from higher ground in Lysytyansk, the leader of the Ukrainian military intelligence service told Reuters news agency on Saturday.
This post was updated at 5:53 PM.
This article is also part of our live blog: Shevyerodonetsk completely in the hands of Russian troops