Ukrainian forces may have to retreat to Luhansk to avoid capture, the region’s governor said.
Serhiy Gaidai said Russian troops had entered Severodonetsk, the largest city in Donbas still in Ukrainian hands.
About 90 percent of the city’s buildings are damaged, he said, adding: “The Russians will not be able to capture the Luhansk region in the next few days, analysts have predicted.
“We will have enough strength and resources to defend ourselves.
“However, we may have to withdraw in order not to be surrounded.”
In early May, Russia abandoned its attempt to take the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, instead of focusing on the southern Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014.
Russia-backed fighters said on Saturday they had taken control of Lyman, a railway core west of Severodonetsk, but Ukraine said its forces were blocking Russian efforts to reach southwestern Sloviansk.
The UK Ministry of Defense said earlier that Russian ground forces had taken several villages northwest of Popasna, a town in the Severodonetsk district.
Read more: Severodonetsk: Fear, suspicion and divided loyalties in the city where the situation is getting out of control “We must contain this horde”: bombing intensifies in the Donbas as Russian soldiers try to encircle key cities
Satellite images of Maxar showed Russian artillery, armored units moving north and east of the city toward Lyman, and the aftermath of widespread artillery bombardment that damaged dozens of homes. and buildings.
Significant damage was seen in Popasna, with Russian military units deployed nearby.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained defiant, however, in his nightly video address: “If the occupiers think Lyman and Severodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong.
“Donbas will be Ukrainian.”
Image: Day 93 of the war in Ukraine
Key Advances: • EU officials expect to reach an agreement on Sunday banning deliveries of Russian oil, but only by sea, 75% of the bloc’s supply. Pipeline supplies will still be allowed: a commitment to appease Hungary • Talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkey continue on bids for the first two to become members of NATO. Turkey has so far refused to support the requests. Zelenskyy has accused Russia of mounting a global food crisis, saying they are not ready for peace talks. Russia says Kyiv has halted talks
Subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Spreaker
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to impose permanent rule on the entire south, including Mariupol, a city that is currently reduced to rubble.
In the Kherson region, one of the first places to fall under Russian control after the February invasion, Ukraine said Russia was strengthening its position and trapping civilians with constant bombing.
Ukraine’s governor of the region, Hennadiy Laguta, said the humanitarian situation was critical in some areas and that people found it very difficult to leave.