The Russian armed forces have taken position on the north-eastern and south-eastern outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated in its morning bulletin. This information is confirmed by local officials.
Russia is sending additional munitions and equipment to reinforce its troops stationed near the city, the general staff reports. The Russian army is conducting an offensive with the aim of encircling the Ukrainian forces in the area of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk to block Ukraine’s main delivery routes. The Russian forces are also preparing for an offensive on Sloviansk, taking positions in Lyman, Ukraine’s general staff noted.
The Russian forces reached the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, two local residents were killed and five were injured, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai stated on his Telegram channel. The majority of people killed were residents of the same district of Sievierodonetsk, they were cooking food in the yard when the attack began.
On 29 May, Gaidai reported that Sievierodonetsk remains under Ukraine’s control, however, the Russian forces continue to storm the city. There were reports of casualties among the civilian population.
Experts with the US-based Institute for the Study of War point out that the capture of Sievierodonetsk would not be of military or economic benefit to Russia. Regardless of which side ends up holding the city of Sievierodonetsk, “the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels will likely have culminated, giving Ukraine the chance to restart its operational-level counteroffensives to push Russian forces back,” the institute stated.