- Russian forces enter the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk – governor
- Ukraine demands more weapons from the West
- Borrell says the EU will agree on the next package of sanctions
Kyiv, Ukraine, May 30 (Reuters) – Russian troops have stormed the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk on Monday, the regional governor said on Monday, describing “very fierce” fighting in the ruins of a city has become the focus of the Moscow offensive. .
Russia has concentrated its firepower on the last large population center still held by Ukrainian forces in the eastern province of Luhansk, in a push to achieve one of President Vladimir Putin’s stated goals after three months of war.
The relentless bombing has left Ukrainian forces defending the ruins in Sievierodonetsk, but their refusal to withdraw has slowed down the massive Russian offensive in the Donbas region.
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The governor of Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, said Russian troops had advanced to the southeast and northeast margins of the city. But he said Ukrainian forces had expelled Russians from the southern Toshkivka village, potentially thwarting Moscow’s push to encircle the area. Read more
“The capture of Sievierodonetsk is a key task for the occupiers … We are doing our best to maintain this progress,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised speech.
“About 90% of the buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city’s housing stock has been completely destroyed.”
European Union leaders were due to meet on Monday and Tuesday to discuss a new package of sanctions against Russia, which could include an oil embargo.
But EU governments have been unable to reach an agreement in a month’s talks, with Hungary in particular saying it cannot afford to shut down Russian oil supplies to its refineries through the huge Druzhba gas pipeline. the Soviet era, whose name means “Friendship”.
Ahead of the summit, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed fears that EU unity was “beginning to crumble”. The draft conclusions, seen by Reuters, indicated that there would be little in terms of new decisions. Read more
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “there will be an agreement in the end”, with an agreement on the next package of sanctions for Monday afternoon.
“UNCONDITIONAL PRIORITY”
After failing to capture Kyiv in March, Russia announced that the goal of its “special military operation” was now to seize the entire two-province Donbas region, Luhansk and Donetsk, which Moscow claims on its behalf. of the separatist representatives.
A police officer inspects an area during an evacuation of local residents between bombings amid a Russian attack on Ukraine in the village of Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on May 29, 2022. Photograph taken on 29 May 2022. REUTERS / Anna Kudriavtseva
Read more
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that the “liberation” of the Donbass was an “unconditional priority” for Moscow. Read more
The capture of Sievierodonetsk and its twin city Lysychansk on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets River would give Russia effective control of Luhansk Province, a point at which the Kremlin could declare some form of victory.
But by focusing its efforts on a battle for the only small town (Sievierodonetsk was home to only about 100,000 people before the war), Russia could be leaving another territory open to possible counterattacks from Ukraine.
The last few days have seen the first signs of a potential Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south, with Moscow trying to consolidate its control of Kherson province, which was captured in the first weeks after launching its invasion in February.
Kyiv says its forces have pushed back Russian troops in recent days to defensive positions in three villages – Andriyivka, Lozove and Bilohorka – all on the southern bank of the Inhulets River, which forms the Kherson border.
The War Study Institute think tank said the Ukrainian counterattack so far did not seem likely to regain substantial territory in the short term, but could disrupt Russian operations and force Moscow to strengthen the area.
Just north of the Kherson front, an alleged Russian attack damaged the Ukrainian-controlled Novyi Buh city center overnight, the city council told Telegram.
Russia said it had also hit a shipyard in Mykolayiv, a major Ukrainian-controlled port west of Kherson.
Separately, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was due to meet with Zelenskiy in Kyiv later Monday to offer more support, the French Foreign Ministry said.
The Ukrainian government has urged the West to provide more long-range weapons to turn the tide of the war, now in its fourth month. Zelenskiy said he expected “good news” in the coming days.
A Ukrainian soldier patrolling the trenches near the city of Bakhmut, southwest of Sievierodonetsk, spoke of the persistent fear that his government might be tempted to negotiate an end to the conflict that would lead to the loss of Ukrainian territory. .
“Now you know what I’m most afraid of, now that the fight is so intense, so hard?” Dmytro, a former English teacher, told Reuters television. “They’ll tell us, ‘Dad, we have a ceasefire.’
“A negotiated agreement can only be reached in terms of Ukraine, and at present if it happened it would be a horror.”
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Reuters office reports; Written by Humeyra Pamuk, Stephen Coates, Peter Graff; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Kevin Liffey
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