Russian troops have driven Ukrainian army from the center in an attack in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian army general staff reports on Facebook† Severdonetsk, a strategically located city in the Donbas, has been at the center of the war in Ukraine for weeks.
According to Ukraine, the main goal of the Russians is to surround the city and cut off the city’s supplies. The General Staff reports that the Ukrainian army is still fighting. President Zelensky said in a video message that there is “literally fighting for every meter” in the city.
Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are the only major cities in the Lugansk region that have not yet fallen completely into Russian hands. Zelensky previously said the battle for Severodonetsk will determine the future of the Donbas.
Last weekend there was a lot of fighting for the Azot factory in the city. “It kind of looks like a repeat of Mariupol,” says Han Bouwmeester, associate professor of military strategy at the Dutch Defense Academy in the Netherlands. NOS Radio 1 News† Bouwmeester does not think that the Russians will get their hands on the two cities in the Donbas just like that, partly because the Russians have to cross a river to reach Lysychansk.
According to the professor, Russia is in good shape when it comes to artillery and ammunition. “Ukraine is short of ammunition, but is now receiving Western equipment.” The will to fight is certainly present in Ukraine, says Bouwmeester. “Ukraine is capable of turning it into an elongated battlefield.”
–
