Ukrainian authorities say they continue to evacuate civilians from Severodonetsk at any “quiet” moment, although a third of the eastern city’s three main bridges was destroyed by Russian shelling on Monday.
As fighting for control of the city raged, local authorities said they still had ways to evacuate people, although it was not immediately clear which route the Ukrainian military was using.
“Ways to connect with the city are quite difficult, but they exist,” Alexander Struik, head of the Severodonetsk military administration, told Ukrainian television, adding that evacuations were carried out “every minute when it is quiet or there is a possibility of transport.”
“Russian troops are trying to storm the city, but the military is holding on tight,” he added. Russia is estimated to control about 70% of the city.
Struik said about 500 civilians continue to be sheltered at the city’s Azot chemical plant, where he fears a scenario similar to the one in the southern port city of Mariupol could develop, with hundreds trapped for weeks at the steel plant. Azovstal plant.
A senior Russian commander said Russian forces were ready to open a humanitarian corridor on Wednesday morning to evacuate civilians from the Nitrogen plant to Svatove, a town north of Severodonetsk controlled by pro-Russian forces.
Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, an officer in charge of the devastating siege of Mariupol, said Ukraine had asked Russia to help organize a humanitarian corridor to Lisichansk, a neighboring city controlled by Ukraine on the other side of the Seversky Donets River in Severodonetsk. but that the Russian Ministry of Defense views Ukraine’s request as an attempt to save its besieged units.
Ukraine has not yet commented on Mizintsev’s proposal. Earlier, she accused Russia of violating the ceasefire agreements.
The Russian army has focused most of its military efforts on capturing Severodonetsk in an attempt to take full control of Luhansk and Donetsk, commonly known as Donbass. Sergei Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, told Ukrainian television on Tuesday that two more Russian battalion tactical groups had been relocated to the area.
The battle of Severodonetsk became one of the bloodiest battles of the war and was seen as a potential turning point in Russia’s progress in the Donbas.
During his evening address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We are dealing with absolute evil. And we have no choice but to move forward and liberate our territory. The human cost of this battle is very high for us. It’s just awful. “
On Monday, several Ukrainian officials called on the West to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons, as the country’s commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, said Russian forces had a tenfold advantage in firepower.
The takeover of Severodonetsk and its neighboring city of Lisichansk will give Russia full control of Luhansk, as well as the opportunity to focus its offensive on Donetsk.
At a briefing Monday, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces were “creating the conditions” for offensives against the cities of Slavyansk, Liman, Yampil and Siversk in Donetsk.
Pro-Russian separatists and Russian news agencies have reported that several Ukrainian artillery strikes on the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk killed a child and wounded several others.
There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the reports.
Pointing to the alleged strikes on the city of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, the leader of the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk, said the proxy state would turn to Russia for more military aid.
Asked about Pushilin’s request, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “protecting” the two breakaway republics was the main goal of Russia’s “special military operation.”
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