Ukrainian officials announced that they resisted the Russian attack on Sievierodonetsk, the largest city they still hold in the eastern Donbas region, but were subjected to heavy artillery fire.
Luhansk Regional Governor Serhiy Hayday said that the loss of life and property could not be determined because the bombardment was so intense. Many buildings have been destroyed in the city in the last few days. Hayday said that tensions in the region have escalated excessively.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has called on the West to provide longer-range weapons to turn the tide of the war, which has entered its fourth month.
The fighting in the city of Sievierodonetsk, located on the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, came into focus as Russia made slow but solid gains in the Donbas, made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Unlike earlier phases where its forces were scattered, Russia concentrated its attacks on a small area.
Losses on both sides increase
Experts at the Washington-based Institute for War Studies said that the Russians still had not succeeded in besieging the city and that the Ukrainians defending their country had inflicted “terrible losses” on them.
However, Ukrainians say that they also suffered serious losses, including civilians as well as soldiers.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin inflicts indescribable suffering on Ukrainians and demands terrible sacrifices from his own people in order to seize a city that does not deserve the cost even for himself,” said experts at the Institute for War Studies.
Noting that Russia has made significant but limited gains in the south and east of Ukraine, experts said, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which aims to seize and occupy the whole country, has turned into a desperate and bloody attack to seize a single city in the east of the country. arrived,” he said.
Zelenski reiterates calls for arms support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the military situation in Donbas, which is partly controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, is very complex, but defenses remain inadequate in many places, including Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
Expressing that the situation in the region is indescribably difficult, Zelenski said, “I am grateful to everyone who resisted this attack.”
Zelensky also expressed hope that Ukraine’s allies will provide much-needed weapons, and said he expects “good news” in the coming days.