A regional governor said Russian troops were moving towards the center of the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk with British intelligence warning that “interests are holding”.
Ukrainian soldiers are fighting for control of the city, but the evacuation of civilians is currently not possible, the head of the city government added.
Oleksandr Stryuk told Ukrainian television: “The city is still in Ukrainian hands, and it is fighting a war… (but) the evacuation was not possible due to the fighting.
Fierce battle in important Russian city – Ukraine live update
Russia is focusing on “liberating” the eastern Donbas region as part of a “special military operation” after facing stiff resistance from Ukraine in the north.
Russian-backed separatists control parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that together make up the Donbas, and Vladimir Putin wants it completely in pro-Russian hands.
Giving an update on the resistance forces that have held back Russia’s broader offensive in Donbas, Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, told Ukrainian state TV that about 15,000 civilians were left behind in the area. Severodonetsk.
Reporting from the city, Sky’s Alex Crawford noticed increased stress among those who chose to staywith most of its 120,000 men fleeing the brutal Russian artillery bombardment.
Gadai said that the Ukrainian troops defending Severodonetsk could retreat across the Siverskyi Donets river to the city of Lysychansk to escape the encirclement.
The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) said that Moscow’s main goals are likely to remain to besiege Severodonetsk and shut down Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.
“Massive shelling continues, while street fighting is likely on the outskirts of Severodonetsk,” it said in its latest Twitter update.
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“Progress has been slow, but benefits are still being achieved,” the MoD added.
“The routes to the interior are likely to remain under Ukraine’s control. Russia has achieved more local successes than earlier in the campaign by concentrating forces and firing in a similar area. This forces Russia to take risks elsewhere in the occupied territory.”
Russia’s political objective is likely to occupy the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk Cemeteries.
“To this end, Russia will need to secure even more challenging operational targets beyond Severodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road.”
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It came as EU agrees to ban about 75% of Russian oil imports.
The embargo covers Russian oil shipped by sea, but there is a temporary exception for imports transported by pipeline to assuage Hungary and other countries concerned about the economic impact of the ban. completely banned.
Hungary gets more than 60% of its oil from Russia and is dependent on crude from the Soviet-era Druzhba (“Friendship”) pipeline.
