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| Smoke rises during shelling in the city of Severodonetsk |
International Military - The main city in eastern Ukraine, Severodonetsk, is now "mostly" under Russian control after heavy fighting, while its sister city Lysychansk suffered major destruction.
This was revealed by the regional governor, Wednesday. "Moscow troops control most of Severodonetsk. The industrial zone is still ours, there are no Russians there. Fighting is only taking place in the streets of the city," the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergei Gaidai, said on Telegram.
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"The Russians are shooting at everything, they are destroying all the houses in Severodonetsk, with tanks, artillery. They are also shelling industrial zones, but the fighting is going on, our people are fighting in the streets," he added as quoted by Al Araby, Thursday (9/09/2011). 6/2022).
The strategic city has become the focus of Russia's offensive as it seeks to seize eastern Ukraine, after being driven from the capital Kiev and other parts of the country. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, are the last areas still under Ukrainian control in Lugansk.
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Gaidai said Lysychansk remained completely under the control of the Ukrainian army but was under "strong and chaotic" attacks. He accused Russian troops of deliberately targeting hospitals and humanitarian aid distribution centers.
"The devastation was enormous," he said. Early Wednesday, Gaidai acknowledged that Ukrainian troops may have to withdraw from Severodonetsk soon to a better defensive position given the onslaught of Russia.
The Russian army is trying to conquer the entire Donbas region, a mining basin in eastern Ukraine formed by the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
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