Ukraine is increasingly losing control of the strategic city of Severodonetsk. The Russians have driven the Ukrainian army from the center, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reports. Severodonetsk has been at the center of the war for weeks.
The Russians displaced Ukrainian soldiers by shelling the city center with artillery, the staff of the Ukrainian army says. He also said that despite the setback, the Ukrainian army, which controls about a third of the city, is still fighting hard.
The news came hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strategically located city is being fought over “literally every meter”. Most of the city is completely in ruins from ongoing fighting and bombing.
The Russian army has made the siege of Severodonetsk one of its priorities, because the city, together with Lysychansk, is the only place in the Luhansk region that has not yet fallen completely into Russian hands. According to Zelensky, the battle for Severodonetsk determines the future of the Donetsk basin, which consists of the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Meanwhile, the battle in Severodonetsk seems to be moving towards the Azot factory. On Sunday, large clouds of smoke could be seen above the factory, which were created by Russian shelling. Part of the factory caught fire this weekend after the shelling caused an oil leak.
The complex also serves as an important shelter for civilians. According to Ukraine, about 200 factory workers and 600 residents are staying in the factory’s air raid shelters. According to the separatists, there are also three to four hundred Ukrainian fighters in the building.