Ukrainian and Russian troops fought street-by-street to win control of the industrial city of Sievierodonetsk on Monday in the pivotal battle of the Kremlin’s eastern Ukraine offensive.
Which side had the upper hand was unclear as the hours passed. Russian forces had the numerical advantage but Ukraine had “every chance” to fight back, President Voldymyr Zelensky said after a regional official suggested Kyiv had lost ground.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russia was throwing troops and equipment into its drive to capture Sievierodonetsk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-held city in the Donbas region’s Luhansk province.
The Ukrainian defenders had over the weekend pushed back the Russians just as they appeared to be on the verge of victory. But the Ukrainian position had again become more perilous on Monday morning, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai told state television.
“Our defenders managed to undertake a counter-attack for a certain time, they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again,” Gaidai said.
City mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said street fighting was raging and neither side was preparing to withdraw.
“We have focused enough forces and resources there to beat back attacks on the city,” Stryuk told Ukrainian television.
Both sides say they have inflicted huge casualties on each other.
The city has become the main target of the Russian offensive in Ukraine’s Donbas region – made up of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces – as the Kremlin’s invasion of the country grinds on in a war of attrition that has seen whole cities laid waste by Russian artillery bombardments.
Russia says it is on a mission to “liberate” the Donbas after Ukraine pushed its troops back from the capital Kyiv and Ukraine’s second biggest city Kharkiv in the war’s early stages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to rally his troops on Sunday with a visit to two cities close to the front lines.
“What you all deserve is victory – that is the most important thing. But not at any cost,” Zelensky, wearing his trademark khaki T-shirt, said in a video.
Zelensky said he had travelled to Lysychansk, south of Sievierodonetsk, and Soledar – rare outings for him outside of Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb 24.
PUTIN WARNING
In a boost for Kyiv, Britain said it would supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80 km (50 miles) away. The systems would give the Ukrainians the more precise, long-range firepower needed to reach Russian artillery units, a key component of Moscow’s battle plans.
