Russian forces are advancing towards the centre of Severonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that has been shelled for weeks and where fierce street fighting is now raging, Luhansk Province Governor Sherhiy Gaidai said today.
The Russians are advancing towards the centre of Severodonetsk. Fighting continues, the situation is very difficult," Gaidai noted on Telegram. According to him, two civilians were wounded today when their car was targeted, but they are now in a safe place, however three doctors are missing. Severodonetsk's critical infrastructure has been destroyed, 60% of housing cannot be restored, Gaidai added.
The governor of Luhansk province warned that the road linking Severodonetsk to the twin city of Lyshchansk and then to Bakhmut, further south, is too dangerous for civilians to be evacuated or for humanitarian aid to get through. Yesterday Sunday, Gaidai had indicated that a Russian offensive was underway in Severodonetsk, with fighting raging in the streets of the city, and had added that the situation in Lysychansk had greatly deteriorated.
Severodonetsk, a city of 100,000 people before the war, has been shelled for weeks by Russian artillery and separatist rebels. Dozens of civilians have been killed there. Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are more than 80 kilometers east of Kramatorsk, which became the administrative center of Ukraine's Donbass region after pro-Russian separatist rebels seized the eastern part of the valley in 2014.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will meet[/B] Ukraine's President[/B] Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev later today[/B] to express France's solidarity with Ukraine and to offer more support to the country, the French Foreign Ministry said.
Colonna's trip to Ukraine comes amid criticism from diplomats and political analysts that France is not doing enough to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. European Union leaders will also meet today to reiterate their support for Ukraine as Russian forces intensify their attacks to seize Severodonetsk, a key city in the Donbass region of southeastern Ukraine. Moscow has made it a priority to take full control of that city.
Source: KYPE
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