Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region of Donbass in eastern Ukraine has been under constant Russian artillery fire for some time and fighting has intensified earlier this week.
– The strategy is the same as in Mariupol, it is about leveling the city with the ground. The difference is that Ukraine does not seem to be fighting to the last man in Sievjerodonetsk, but it looks like they are conducting tactical retreats – but the shelling is huge, says Oscar Jonsson at the Swedish National Defense College.
Russia is now in control most of the city, according to several sources. Governor Serhiy Gaidai has said that almost all important infrastructure has been destroyed and about 60 percent of the residential buildings in the city, writes Reuters.
Probably more than half of Sevierodonetsk is under Russian control, the British Ministry of Defense tweets, citing intelligence. The fighting has been intense in the streets on Monday and Tuesday and Russian forces are approaching the city center, according to the British.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 1 June 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/eyvBTJ9Q1Y
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/GxpDQY3ua2
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 1, 2022
Sievjerodonetsk is the last of the Luhansk region that Russia does not control.
The fact that Russia is now focusing on Sevierodonetsk could weaken the country’s forces elsewhere, according to the think tank ISW. Russian troop movements have been made from Kherson – which Ukraine seems to be taking advantage of, ISW estimates.
In a speech on social media On Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said that Ukraine has had some success in the Kherson region.
– Troop movements have been seen from Kherson, and it may be that Russia counts on the defender’s advantage and that the forces they have left can still hold the bar in Kherson. But so far, the Ukrainian successes are probably small when the counter-offensive has just started, says Oscar Jonsson.
At the same time, Ukraine is getting more weapons from the West. US Joe Biden announces in The New York Times that the US will now send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine.
– The Russian forces have a noticeable degree of exhaustion and there are restrictions on how large ground offensives they can carry out. Ukraine will have larger weapon systems, but it may take time to implement these with transport and training, says Oscar Jonsson.
He emphasizes that it is important to understand that the Russian advance in Sevierodonetsk is a result of Russia revising down its war goals several times, and giving up attacks on, among others, Kyiv and Kharkiv.
The situation is probably difficult for the civilians who remain in Sievjerodonetsk. Norwegian Refugee Council estimates that at least 12,000 people are without proper access to food, water, medicines or electricity supply in the city.
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