Russia on Wednesday reported that its forces had taken full control of residential neighbourhoods in Ukraine’s flashpoint city of Severodonetsk, after Kyiv claimed its troops were fighting on in the eastern hub despite being outnumbered.
‘The residential areas of the city of Severodonetsk have been fully liberated,’ Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a defence ministry meeting.
The Russian army was still seeking to establish control over the city’s ‘industrial zone and the nearest settlements’, he added, amid conflicting reports of who is in control of what.
Moscow has been pushing for control of the strategic industrial hub as part of its bid to conquer a vast swathe of eastern Ukraine but Kyiv’s forces have so far managed to hold out.
Read Also: Conflict Rages As Ukraine President Visits Frontlines
‘Our heroes are holding their positions in Severodonetsk. Fierce street fights continue in the city,’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address late Monday which was monitored by Africa Today News, New York.
Zelensky warned Ukrainian forces in the key city were outnumbered and the Russians “are stronger”. He was speaking to journalists after visiting frontline positions in Lysychansk, across the river from Severodonetsk.
Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Recall that shortly after being repelled from other parts of the country, including Kyiv, Russia has concentrated its assault on the eastern Donbas region and had been making slow but steady progress.
Severodonetsk — the largest city still in Ukrainian hands in the Lugansk region of the Donbas — has been the focal point in recent weeks.