A Ukrainian soldier communicates by radio during heavy fighting on the front line in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine, on June 8. (Oleksandr Ratushniak / AP)
LONDON – A military official in the Russian-backed Donetsk region of Donetsk has issued a stern warning to other Ukrainian fighters in the besieged city of Severodonetsk: “Surrender or die.”
Eduard Basurin, deputy leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic or People’s Militia, told reporters Monday that the remaining soldiers are now trapped after the city’s last bridge was destroyed.
“Severodonetsk is actually blocked after the last bridge connecting it to Lisichansk was blown up yesterday,” Basurin was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. “Therefore, the Ukrainian troops stationed there remain there forever. He added: “They have two options: either to follow the example of their colleagues and surrender, or to die. They have no choice. “
Smoke rises from the city of Severodonetsk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass on June 13. (Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Kyiv said its forces were still being held in Severodonetsk and that soldiers were trying to evacuate civilians hiding in the city. Authorities said more than 500 people were trapped in Azot, a chemical plant in the city.
The head of Russia’s National Defense Management Center has given soldiers seeking shelter at the chemical plant a chance to surrender by Wednesday morning. According to Interfax, an independent Russian media colonel general. Mikhail Mizintsev said that Ukrainian soldiers must “stop their senseless resistance and lay down their arms.” All civilians will be allowed to leave through a “humanitarian corridor,” he added.
According to Reuters, Severodonetsk Mayor Alexander Struck said there was still “communication with the city”, although bridges to the city had been destroyed. “Russian troops are trying to storm the city, but the military is holding on tight,” he said.
Ukrainian servicemen drive US 155-millimeter M109 self-propelled howitzers in the Donetsk region on June 13. (Gleb Garanic / Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Western countries to send more long-range weapons so that the Ukrainian military can help defend Severodonetsk. Speaking to Danish journalists, Zelenski said: “We have enough weapons. What we do not have are the weapons that really reach the range we need to reduce the advantage of the Russian Federation’s equipment. “Ukraine has requested 1,000 drones, 500 tanks and 1,000 long-range howitzers, among other heavy weapons.
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