The Russian troops are “starting to establish their foothold” in the centre of Sievierodonetsk, says the Ukrainian General Staff.
Serhiy Haidai, the Luhansk governor, confirms that the Russian forces entered the central part of the town and are ”destroying infrastructure and industry facilities”. They have attacked the Azot chemical plant and shelled the Proletary glassworks in Lysychansk.
The Russian army, including the Chechen units, now control up to 70% of the town. Ukrainian troops are withdrawing from the centre of the town, says the US-based Institute for the Study of War. However, Moscow’s concentration on seizing Sievierodonetsk generally continues to create vulnerabilities for Russia in Ukraine’s vital region of Kherson, where Ukrainian counter-offensives continue.
“If Ukraine regains Kherson, they will be in a much stronger position to defend itself against future Russian attacks. This strategic calculus should in principle lead Russia to allocate sufficient combat power to hold Kherson. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen instead to concentrate all the forces and resources that can be scraped together in a desperate and bloody push to seize areas of eastern Ukraine that will give him largely symbolic gains. Continuing successful Ukrainian counter-offensives in Kherson indicate that Ukraine’s commanders recognize these realities and are taking advantage of the vulnerabilities that Putin’s decisions have created,” reads the report by the ISW.
Most of the town’s territory was captured by the Russian army, Haidai said yesterday. The town suffered heavy damage relatively similar to that in Rubizhne and Popasna. It is now impossible to evacuate the people who are still in the town, as well as to deliver goods, due to constant shelling. There is now no connection with the town.
