Street fighting is raging in Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine and Russian forces are destroying "everything that can be used for defense," local governor of Luhansk Sherhi Gaidai said.
Russian forces are shelling areas of the strategic city still under Ukrainian control, but Ukrainian forces will be able to "clean up" when they receive long-range artillery systems, the governor said. Ukrainian forces could retake the city "in 2, 3 days" once they have the Western long-range artillery systems, Sherhi Gaidai said.
[/P]Russian forces have been trying to take the industrial city in eastern Ukraine for weeks. The city is important for overall control of the Donbas Valley. According to the governor of Luhansk, Russian forces have gained ground in recent days and control "a large part of the city."
Ukraine is desperately seeking long-range multiple-launch missile systems from Western countries. The US has announced the shipment of four Himars systems, highly accurate and with an 80-kilometer range, which is slightly longer range than their Russian counterparts, according to experts.
But Washington says it wants to make sure Ukrainian soldiers are able to use these weapons properly before sending more, according to U.S. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mark Miley.
The UK has also announced the deployment of a similar MLRS multi-launch rocket system.
Speaking yesterday about the battle in Severodonetsk, the President of Ukraine said that "it is a very tough battle, probably one of the toughest of the warIn many respects, the fate of our Donbass is decided there."
[/B]Source: Cyprus Times
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