- Russian forces are advancing slowly toward the center of Severodonetsk
- Thousands of civilians have been trapped in Severodonetsk
- The EU is resolving a stalemate over a ban on Russian oil
Kyiv, May 31 (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces were still detained in Severodonetsk on Tuesday, resisting a sweeping attack by Russia to seize a bombed-out wilderness that Moscow has made a major target of its invasion in recent days.
Both sides said Russian forces now control between a third and a half of the city. Russian separatist officials have acknowledged that taking it takes longer than expected, despite one of the war’s biggest ground attacks.
Western military analysts say Moscow has drained live and firepower from the rest of the front to focus on Severodonetsk, hoping a massive offensive against the small industrial city will provide what Russia could call a victory in one of the declared its targets to the east.
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“We can already say that one third of Severodonetsk is already under our control,” said Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the pro-Moscow Luhansk People’s Republic, quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS.
Fighting raged in the city, but Russian forces were not advancing as fast as expected, he said, saying pro-Moscow forces wanted to “maintain the city’s infrastructure” and were moving slowly due to caution around chemical plants.
Ukrainian head of the city administration Alexander Struk said the Russians now control half of the city.
“Unfortunately … the city is divided in half. But at the same time, the city is still defending itself. It is still Ukrainian,” he said, advising those still locked inside to stay in basements.
Ukraine says Russia has destroyed all of the city’s critical infrastructure with relentless bombing, followed by wave after wave of massive ground attacks involving huge numbers of victims.
Thousands remain trapped. Russian forces are advancing toward the city center, but have slowly and failed to surround the Ukrainian defenders who remain there.
District Governor Sergei Gaidai told Ukrainian television that there seemed to be no risk of Ukrainian forces being surrounded, although they could eventually be forced to withdraw across the Seversky Donets River to Lisichansk, a sister city on the opposite bank.
Struck, head of the city administration, said evacuating civilians was no longer possible. Authorities have canceled efforts to evacuate residents following an attack Monday that killed a French journalist.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the long-serving Norwegian Refugee Council’s aid agency in Severodonetsk, said he was “horrified” by its destruction.
“We fear that up to 12,000 civilians will be affected by crossfire in the city without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The near-constant bombing is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only a few valuable opportunities for those trying to escape. “
A local walks to a building destroyed by a Russian military coup while the Russian attack on Ukraine continues, in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 29, 2022. REUTERS / Serhii Nuzhnenko
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Elsewhere on the battlefield, there were few reports of major action on Tuesday. In the east, Ukraine says Moscow is trying to attack other areas on the main front, including pressure on the city of Solviansk. In the south, Ukraine has claimed in recent days that it has repulsed Russian forces on the banks of the Inhulets River, which forms the border of the Russian-held province of Kherson.
BAN ON OIL
After failing to take Kyiv, expelled from northern Ukraine and making only limited progress elsewhere in the east, Moscow has focused all its armed forces in recent days on Severodonetsk, which had a pre-war population of about 110,000.
Victory there and in neighboring Lisichansk will allow Moscow to claim control of Luhansk province, one of two eastern regions it claims on behalf of separatist proxies, in part by achieving one of President Vladimir Putin’s declared military goals.
But the huge battle came at a huge cost, which some Western military experts say could damage Russia’s ability to repel possible Ukrainian counterattacks elsewhere, regardless of who wins the battle for Severodonetsk.
“Putin is now throwing people and ammunition at the last major settlement in Luhansk, Severodonetsk, as if his claim would win the war for the Kremlin. He’s wrong, “said the Washington Institute for War Research.
“When the battle of Severodonetsk is over, no matter which country it holds, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic levels is likely to have culminated, giving Ukraine a chance to renew its counter-offensives at the operational level to push Russian forces back.
The EU on Monday agreed to its toughest sanctions against Russia since the start of the war, targeting for the first time Russia’s oil sales, arguably Moscow’s main source of income.
The EU will now ban the import of Russian oil by sea. Officials said it would stop two-thirds of oil exports to Europe at once and 90% by the end of this year, as Germany and Poland are also gradually halting imports via the pipeline. Read more
Hungary, which relies on Russian oil through a huge Soviet-era pipeline, has secured an exception, although EU officials have said they expect it to be “temporary”. Read more
Ukraine says sanctions are taking too long and are still full of holes to stop Russia: “If you ask me, I would say too slow, too late and definitely not enough,” said Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Vladimir Cabinet. Green.
Moscow, meanwhile, has cut off gas supplies to several EU countries in a dispute over how to receive payments, although action so far in the warmer months, when demand is lower, has not yet had the most serious impact. On Tuesday, Russia expelled the main Dutch gas buyer, GasTerra, which said it would find supplies elsewhere. Read more
Putin began his invasion of Ukraine in February, claiming that Moscow aimed to disarm and “disinfect” its neighbor. Ukraine and its Western allies call this an unfounded pretext for a war of conquest.
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Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Screenplay by Simon Cameron-Moore and Peter Graf; Edited by Stephen Coates and Alison Williams
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