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the ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyemphasized his request to Western countries to send more weapons and help contain the “terrifying” human cost of Russian advances in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, inaccessible on Tuesday from the rest of the areas controlled by kyiv.
This industrial city and its neighbor Lysychansk, separated by the Donets River, have been under fire for weeks from Russian troops, who want to seize the last redoubt of kyiv in Lugansk, one of the two regions along with Donetsk that make up the Donbas mining area.
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The president assured that the human cost of this battle “is very high, it is simply terrifying”, but he was confident that he could turn the situation around if they received more Western weapons.
“We just need more weapons to secure all of this. Our allies have them,” he said. Zelensky.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak on Monday listed the needs of his troops, including howitzers, tanks and armored vehicles.
“Being direct: to end the war we need heavy weapons,” he said on Twitter.
– Severodonetsk inaccessible –
Lugansk regional governor Sergei Gaidai admitted on Monday that Ukrainian troops had been pushed out of the center of Severodonetsk after weeks of resistance.
“They have destroyed all the bridges, so access to the city is no longer possible. Evacuation is also not possible,” he told Free Europe radio.
Gaidai said Russian troops controlled 70-80% of the city, but said they had not captured or surrounded it.
With the Russian siege tightening on Lugansk, the Ukrainian troops in the area have only two options “surrender or die”, declared the spokesman for the pro-Russian separatists Eduard Basurin.
For Russia, taking control of Severodonetsk would pave the way to take over another big Donbas city, Kramatorsk, an important step in conquering the entire region that had already been partly in the hands of Moscow-backed rebels since 2014.
Neighboring Lysychansk is not spared from hostilities. The damage is extensive in this city, which has no water, electricity or telephone coverage.
From there, the Ukrainian artillery takes advantage of Lysychansk’s elevated position to attack Russian troops trying to seize Severodonetsk on the other side of the river.
But the bombings go both ways and destroy not only buildings, but also lives. With bloodshot eyes, Maksim Katerin showed AFP the graves of his mother and her stepfather, killed by an explosion in the courtyard of his house.
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
