- Russian forces are slowly advancing on the city center of Sievierodonetsk
- Thousands of civilians trapped in Sievierodonetsk
- EU resolves deadlock over Russian oil ban
KIEV, May 31 (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces were still resisting in Sievierodonetsk on Tuesday, resisting Russia’s full assault to capture a bombed-out wasteland that Moscow has made the main target of its invasion in recent days.
Both sides said Russian forces now control between a third and a half of the city. Russia’s separatist representatives acknowledged that capturing it took longer than expected, despite one of the largest ground assaults of the war.
Western military analysts say Moscow has run out of manpower and firepower from the rest of the front to concentrate on Sievierodonetsk, hoping a massive offensive in the small industrial town would bring something Russia might call a victory in one of its stated goals in the east.
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“We can already say that a third of Sievierodonetsk is already under our control,” Russian state news agency TASS was quoted as saying by Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the pro-Moscow Lugansk People’s Republic.
Fighting is raging in the city, but Russian forces are not advancing as fast as expected, he said, adding that pro-Moscow forces wanted to “maintain the city’s infrastructure” and were advancing slowly as a precaution. around chemical factories.
The Ukrainian head of the city administration, Oleksandr Stryuk, said that now the Russians 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 trapped inside to stay in the cellars.
Ukraine says Russia has destroyed all of the city’s critical infrastructure with relentless bombing, followed by wave after wave of massive ground assaults with large numbers of casualties.
Thousands of residents remain trapped. Russian forces are advancing towards the city center, but slowly, and have failed to encircle the Ukrainian defenders who resist.
Regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television that there did not appear to be any risk of Ukrainian forces being surrounded, although they could eventually be forced to retreat across the Siverskiy Donets River to Lysychansk, the twin city. on the opposite bank.
Stryuk, head of the city administration, said the evacuation of civilians was no longer possible. Authorities canceled efforts to evacuate residents following a Monday attack that killed a French journalist.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council’s aid agency, which had been operating from Sievierodonetsk for some time, said he was “horrified” by its destruction.
“We have up to 12,000 civilians trapped in crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The almost constant bombardment is forcing civilians to take refuge in anti-aircraft shelters and basements, with few opportunities for those trying to escape. “
A local resident walks beside a building destroyed by a Russian military attack while Russia continues its attack on Ukraine, in the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on May 29, 2022. REUTERS / Serhii Nuzhnenko
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Elsewhere on the battlefield, there were few reports of major actions on Tuesday. In the east, Ukraine says Moscow is trying to attack other areas along the main front, including pressure on the city of Solviansk. In the south, Ukraine has claimed in recent days that Russian forces have retreated to the banks of the Russian-controlled border of the Inhulets River.
PROHIBITION OF OIL
After failing to capture Kyiv, being expelled from northern Ukraine and making only a limited advance elsewhere in the east, Moscow has concentrated all the strength of its armed power in recent days on Sievierodonetsk, which had a pre-war population of about 110,000.
Victory there and alongside Lysychansk would allow Moscow to claim control of Luhansk province, one of the two eastern regions it claims on behalf of separatist representatives, in part achieving one of President Vladimir Putin’s declared war goals. .
But the huge battle has come at a huge cost, which some Western military experts say could hurt Russia’s ability to defend itself against possible Ukrainian counterattacks elsewhere, regardless of who wins the battle for Sievierodonetsk.
“Putin is throwing men and ammunition at the last major population center left in (Luhansk), Sievierodonetsk, as if taking him would win the war in the Kremlin. He is wrong,” thinks the Institute for the Study of the War, based in Washington. tank wrote this week.
“When the battle of Severodonetsk is over, no matter which side the city is on, the Russian offensive at the operational and strategic level is likely to be over, giving Ukraine a chance to restart its counter-offensive at the operational level to push back Russian forces.” .
The EU on Monday agreed to tougher sanctions on Russia since the war began, for the first time targeting oil sales in Russia, Moscow’s main source of revenue.
The EU will now ban the import of Russian oil by sea. Officials said it would halt two-thirds of Russia’s oil exports to Europe at once, and 90 percent by the end of this year, as Germany and Poland would also phase out gas pipeline imports. Read more
Hungary, which depends on Russian oil through a large Soviet-era oil pipeline, got an exemption, although EU officials said they expected it to be “temporary”. Read more
Ukraine says sanctions take too long and are still too full of holes to stop Russia: “If you ask me, I would say it’s too slow, too late and definitely not enough,” said Ihor Zhovkva, deputy chairman of President Volodymyr. Zelenskiy Office.
Moscow, meanwhile, has cut off gas supplies to several EU countries in a dispute over how to receive payments, although moves so far during the warmer months when demand is low have not yet the most severe impact. On Tuesday, Russia turned off the main buyer of Dutch gas, GasTerra, which said it would find supplies elsewhere. Read more
Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February, claiming that Moscow aimed to disarm and “deactivate” its neighbor. Ukraine and its Western allies call this an unfounded pretext for a war to seize territory.
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Reuters office reports; Written by Simon Cameron-Moore and Peter Graff; Edited by Stephen Coates and Alison Williams
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