Russian forces have fully occupied Svyarodonetsk, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city said on Saturday, after weeks of some of the bloodiest fighting in the war, confirming Ukraine’s biggest battlefield setback for more than a month.
Pro-Russian separatists said Moscow’s forces are now attacking the twin city of Sveriodonetsk, Lisichansk, the last stronghold held by Ukraine in eastern Luhansk province, on the opposite bank of the Siversky Donets River.
The fall of Svyarodonetsk – once home to more than 100,000 people, now a wasteland – was Russia’s biggest victory since the capture of Mariupol port last month. It turns the battlefield to the east after weeks in which Moscow’s huge gains in firepower had only been achieved by slow gains.
Russia will now be hoping to capture more land on the opposite bank, while Ukraine One would hope that the price Moscow paid for capturing the ruins of the small town would leave Russian forces vulnerable to counterattacks in the coming weeks.
“The city is now under full Russian occupation. They are trying to establish their own order, as far as I know they have appointed some sort of commandant,” Mayor Alexander Streeck told national television. But said.
He added that anyone left behind could no longer access Ukrainian-occupied territory, as the city was effectively cut off.
Russia’s Interfax news agency, citing a representative of fighters from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said Russian and pro-Russian forces had entered Lisichansk and fighting was taking place in urban areas. This could not be confirmed immediately.
As Europe’s biggest land conflict World As war two entered its fifth month, Russian missiles also rained down on the western, northern and southern parts of the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops to the border on February 24, starting a conflict that killed thousands and uprooted millions. It has also led to an energy and food crisis that is rocking the global economy.
Since abandoning an initial advance on the capital Kyiv called a “special military operation”, Russia and its proxies have shifted their main focus to the Donbass, an eastern region made up of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.
The retreat from Svyarodonetsk brings Moscow closer to full control of Luhansk, with Ukrainian troops in the province largely holding only Lischansk.
Ukrainian officials said they were pulling back troops from Svyarodonetsk to avoid being surrounded by Russians, who had crossed the river in recent days and were advancing on Lysichansk on the opposite bank.
missile strike
The capture of Svyarodonetsk can be seen by Russia as a retaliation for its switch from its initial, unsuccessful attempt of “lightning warfare” to a relentless, grinding offensive using massive artillery in the east.
Moscow says Luhansk and Donetsk, where it has supported the insurgency since 2014, are independent countries, and has called on Ukraine to hand over the entire territory of the two provinces to the separatist administration.
Serhi Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region, said Russian forces had attempted to enter and blockade Lisichansk on Friday.
Ukrainian officials never expected much to hold Svyarodonetsk indefinitely, but expected a price high enough for it to eliminate Russian forces and leave the invasion force vulnerable to a counterstrike.
Ukraine’s top general Valery Zaluzny wrote on the Telegram app on Saturday that recently arrived, advanced US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems are now deployed and hitting targets in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, governors of the western and northern regions reported multiple missile strikes, indicating that Russia was not limiting its attack to eastern regions.
“48 cruise missiles. At night. All over Ukraine,” Mikhailo Podolik, adviser to the Ukrainian president, said on Twitter. “Russia is still trying to scare Ukraine, spread panic and intimidate people.”
Maxim Kozitsky, the governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, said in a video posted online that six missiles were fired from the Black Sea at the Yavoryev base near the border with Poland. Four hit the target but two were destroyed.
In the north, the governor of the Zhytomyr region, Vitaly Bunenko, said that at least one soldier was killed in an attack on a military target, adding that about 10 missiles were intercepted and destroyed.
To the south, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich near the Black Sea said five cruise missiles hit the city and surrounding areas on Saturday. The casualties were being clarified.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm the various reports.
Russia denies targeting civilians. Kyiv and the West maintain that the Russian military has committed war crimes against civilians.
Western support for Ukraine
Despite setbacks on the battlefield, Kyiv has garnered support from the West which has imposed sanctions on Russia and is sending weapons to Ukraine.
The war has had a huge impact on the global economy and European security systems, increasing gas, oil and food prices, prompting the EU to reduce its heavy reliance on Russian energy, and prompting Finland and Sweden to seek NATO membership.
Leaders of the Group of Seven prosperous democracies are expected to demonstrate long-term support for Ukraine and discuss how to clamp down on Russia at a three-day summit beginning Sunday in Germany.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will attend, said he feared Ukraine could face pressure to agree a peace deal, and that the consequences of Putin making his way into Ukraine would be dangerous to international security.
In a major sign of support, EU leaders this week approved Ukraine’s formal candidacy to join the bloc – a decision that Russia said on Friday, equated to “slavery” of the EU’s neighboring countries. .
Russia says it sent troops to Ukraine to demean its southern neighbor’s military capabilities and root out dangerous nationalists. Ukraine calls the war a Russian land grab, and says it will never surrender its territory.
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