KYIV/BAKHMUT Ukraine – On Monday, Russian forces tightened their grip in the eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk. A Ukrainian official claimed they cut off the last routes to evacuate residents. This was a scene that echoes last month’s siege at Mariupol.
Sergei Gaidai, the regional governor, posted on social media that all bridges in the city were destroyed. He said it was now impossible to evacuate people or bring humanitarian cargo into the city.
“It is now impossible unfortunately to drive in the city, to deliver something to the city. Gaidai stated that evacuation was impossible.
He stated that 70% (now the center of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II) of the small industrial town was under Russian rule but that Ukrainian defenders had not been completely blocked.
“They have access to the hospitals to treat the wounded,” he explained to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Ukrainian service. “It’s not easy to deliver weapons or reserves. Difficult, however, not impossible.
Ukraine is asking for more Western heavy weaponry to defend Sievierodonetsk. Kyiv has stated that they could hold the key in the battle to seize the eastern Donbas.
The Ukrainian military command indicated in a briefing notice that Russian forces were trying to take control of Sievierodonetsk. However, an attack on Ukrainian positions to the southeast of the city failed.
Russian artillery destroyed the Azot chemical plants, where several hundred civilians were sheltering,” he said.
Damien Magrou of the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, who has been present in Sievierodonetsk, said the situation was similar to Mariupol. “With a large pocket of Ukrainian defenses cut off the rest of the Ukrainian troops,” he stated.
SURRENDER, OR DIE’
Russia’s RIA news agencies quoted Eduard Basurin a pro -Moscow separatist spokesperson, saying that Ukrainian troops had been effectively blocked in Sievierodonetsk. They should surrender or die.
Ukraine’s accounts of civilians held hostage in an industrial plant echo the fall of Mariupol last Month, where hundreds of civilians, as well as wounded Ukrainian soldiers, were held hostage for weeks at the Azovstal ironworks.
More than 5million people fled the war, and millions are now at risk of a global crisis in energy and food due to disruptions in Russia, Ukraine, and oil supplies. The Western countries are divided about how to end it.
BURNING CROPS
Moscow was unsuccessful in capturing the capital Kyiv after the Feb. 24 invasion. Moscow focuses on expanding control of the Donbas. This includes Luhansk (and neighboring Donetsk) and is where pro-Russian separatists have been held since 2014. They also want to capture more parts of the Black Sea coast.
The fighting at the Donbas’ front lines increases as the weather warms. Rocket fires and shelling set fields on fire and destroy ripening crops.
Lyuba was a Ukrainian-held Donbas locality near the front. She watched a flame burn along with the fields but did not intend to leave. “Where can I go?” Is anyone waiting for me there? She said. “It’s scary. But it is what is.”
Bakhmut, Donetsk: A resident identified as Valya examined the devastation of an apartment building local authorities stated had been affected by an aircraft strike.
“We went straight to bed. We’re old, you know. And then, all of a sudden… Terrifying. “There is nothing good going on here. It is not clear how things will end.
Mykhailo Podolyak is the Ukrainian Presidential Adviser.
Russia’s latest report, the latest among several released recently, stated that it had destroyed U.S.-made weapons and equipment.
According to the defense ministry, high-precision, aerial-based missiles struck near Udachne, northwest of Donetsk. These were said to have hit equipment that Ukrainian forces had already delivered. The Ukrainian side didn’t respond immediately.
Moscow has criticized the United States and other governments for sending weapons of war to Ukraine. Moscow threatened to strike new targets if the West sent long-range ballistic missiles.
