Once a day, NU.nl gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk is now completely in the hands of Russia and after weeks of relative calm, the shelling of Kharkiv continues.
The strategically located city of Severodonetsk fell completely into Russian hands on Saturday. The city had been fighting for weeks and the Ukrainian army withdrew almost completely on Friday.
The occupation is confirmed by both Ukraine and Russia. “The city is now completely occupied by Russia. They are trying to establish their own administration. As far as I know, they have appointed some sort of commander,” Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk told national television.
The capture of Severodonetsk was an important goal of Russia, which controls almost the entire Luhansk region. Preserving the city was previously seen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as crucial to the future of the Donets Basin, the region partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
With the fall of Severodonetsk, Russia has control over almost the entire Luhansk region.
Ukraine to relocate troops to Severodonetsk
Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of using reserve troops in a covert mobilization operation. This would bring the troops back up to standard, claims the head of the Ukrainian intelligence service Kyrylo Budanov.
The country will now focus on stabilizing the situation, Budanov said. He calls for “the necessary amount of equipment, troops and resources to launch the counteroffensive to regain all our territory”.
Ukraine to move its troops around Severodonetsk to nearby Lysychansk. Through that higher ground, the Ukrainians hope to gain a tactical advantage over Russia.
Kharkiv under fire again after relatively quiet weeks
Although the main focus on Saturday was the fall of Severodonetsk, fighting continued in other areas in Ukraine.
After Kharkiv had been under intense fire for months, things have been relatively calm around the country’s second-largest city in recent weeks. The shelling on the city continued this week. For example, a nuclear research center in northeast Kharkiv was damaged by shelling on Saturday.
An office building in Kharkiv was badly damaged by shelling.
An office building in Kharkiv was badly damaged by shelling. Photo: Reuters
–
–
–
Mayors angry over deepfake conversation with Kyiv
Several European mayors have spoken in recent days with someone posing as Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko. This person probably used deepfake technology that made him look and sound like Klitschko.
As far as is known, it concerns the mayors Franziska Giffey (Berlin), José Luis Martínez-Almeida (Madrid) and Michael Ludwig (Vienna). Giffey says he found out in the course of the conversation that it was an impostor.
After that, Martínez-Almeida and Ludwig also announced that they had had a conversation with the alleged Klitschko. “It is unfortunately part of the reality that the war is being waged by all means,” Giffey tweeted.
Klitschko indicated that talks are only organized through official channels in Kyiv. The German and Spanish police have launched an investigation.
–
