Heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops is taking place in the strategically important city of Severodonetsk in the Donbas.
Aris Messinis Afp | Getty Images
Intense fighting is taking place on the streets of a critical city in eastern Ukraine that is now at the center of Moscow’s invasion, while Kyiv is begging the West to supply more weapons to hold back Russian forces.
In Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that has become the focus of Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine, there are likely to be many casualties on both sides, according to a June 11 update from the UK’s Ministry of Defense.
“Intensive street-to-street fighting continues and both sides are likely to suffer a large number of casualties,” the ministry said on Twitter. “Russia is firing massively with its artillery and air capabilities in an attempt to crush Ukraine’s defenses.
However, the ministry said Russian forces had failed to take control of the southern part of the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the battle for Severodonetsk could decide the outcome for eastern Ukraine. He described the fighting in the city in Ukraine’s Donbass region as “probably one of the most difficult in this whole war”.
Donbass refers to two provinces, Donetsk and Lugansk, in the easternmost part of Ukraine. This is a major strategic, political and economic goal for the Kremlin.
“Many fierce fighting continues in Donbass,” Zelensky said in an evening address on June 11. “Russia wants to destroy every city in Donbass.”
“Ukrainian troops are doing everything possible to stop the invasion of the occupiers. As much as possible. As much as heavy weapons, modern artillery – everything we asked for and continue to ask our partners for – allows them,” he said. .
Ukraine is pushing for faster and more arms supplies from the West, as the war in the east is largely an artillery battle in which Ukrainians are heavily superior, according to Reuters, citing country officials.
“Now it all depends on what (the West) gives us. “Ukraine has one artillery cannon to 10 to 15 Russian artillery weapons,” Vadim Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy military intelligence chief, told the Guardian.
The country is now pinning its hopes on missile systems that the United States and the United Kingdom have promised to send.
The United Kingdom said earlier this week that it would send volley missile systems to Ukraine that could hit targets up to 50 miles away, in co-ordination with the United States. Washington has said it will supply Ukraine with highly mobile artillery missile systems that can travel more than 43 miles.
Russia is attacking Ukrainian defenders with many such missile systems that have greater range than artillery cannons.
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