The defense of the city of Severodonetsk, which is crucial to the Kremlin’s goal of capturing eastern Ukraine, continues in the face of fierce artillery bombardment and airstrikes. Ukraine continues to have a “different disadvantage in terms of artillery systems” compared to Russia, according to the think tank of the Washington-based Institute for War Study (ISW), despite requests from Ukrainian leaders to ask for help from western countries.
Here are the updates from around the country:
Severodonetsk: One of the last Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region, the city has been destroyed by heavy fighting. But it is not yet clear what part of the city’s invaders they control now as battles continue over the Azot industrial zone and the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway. Meanwhile, Russian forces have bombed neighboring cities that could supply Ukrainian troops.
Elsewhere in Donbas: “Russia wants to destroy all Donbas cities,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday as fierce fighting continued. “Like Volnovakha, like Mariupol. All these ruins in once happy cities, black traces of fires, craters of explosions: this is all that Russia can give to its neighbors, Europe and the world. “The images collected by the American satellite company Maxar Technologies shows fields with crumbs and entire dusty blocks in Luhansk and Donetsk, where Russian attacks have been the focus of recent weeks. the city reduced to rubble.
Kherson Ukraine said on Friday that Russian forces were stepping up their defenses after their troops launched a successful counterattack against Russian forces around Kherson and recaptured part of the territory that had previously been lost in the southern region. The ISW said this week that Moscow is stepping up operations apart from the region following Ukraine’s counterattacks.
Mariupol: The Russian military is struggling to provide basic public services to civilians, according to the British Ministry of Defense. Residents do not have access to adequate social or medical services in the city, which runs the risk of a major cholera outbreak. According to the ISW, cases of cholera reported since May are of particular concern, as the medical system is on the verge of collapse as a result of mismanagement by Russian authorities.
Reis Thebault and Mary Ilyushina contributed to this report.