Zelensky: 'Brutal' battle for Sievierodonetsk to determine fate of Donbas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the battle for the strategic city of Sievierodonetsk is very fierce and will determine the fate of Donbas, as Russia is pushing to completely bring the eastern region under its control.

"This is a very brutal battle, very tough, perhaps one of the most difficult throughout this war," Zelensky said in a video statement on Wednesday.  

"Sievierodonetsk remains the epicenter of the encounter in Donbas ... Largely, that is where the fate of our Donbas is being decided now," he added.

Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, and nearby Lysychansk have recently been the focus of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, which is now into its fourth month.

Moscow is pushing for complete control of the Donbas region, where pro-Russia forces held parts of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces even before the Russian military operation began in late February. 

Russia says seized full control of east Ukraine’s key city after fierce fighting

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday said the country’s forces have seized full control of the residential areas of Sievierodonetsk, a key city in Ukraine

Zelensky’s remarks come as Ukrainian troops have pulled back to Sievierodonetsk’s outskirts amid heavy fighting in the city, but have vowed to fight there for as long as possible.

Luhansk's Governor Serhiy Haidai said artillery shelling has turned Sievierodonetsk to a bombed-out wasteland, adding that most of the key industrial city is now in Russian hands and that it is no longer possible to rescue civilians stranded there.

“Our [forces] now again control only the outskirts of the city. But the fighting is still going on, our [forces] are defending Sievierodonetsk. It is impossible to say the Russians completely control the city,” he said.

However, he added, Ukrainian forces still control all of the key city of Lysychansk on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets River.

It is estimated there are around 15,000 civilians remaining in both Sievierodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk, which had a combined population of around 200,000 before the war.

Kiev's ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova also said that Ukrainian troops are vastly outnumbered in Luhansk and Donetsk, which collectively form the Donbas.

Street fighting rages as Russia pushes to capture Severodonetsk in Donbas

Fierce street fighting rages in Ukraine’s strategic city of Severodonetsk, as Russia is pushing to completely bring the eastern Donbas region under its control.

But "as we already saw in the battle for Kiev, we can lose something temporarily. Of course, we're trying to minimize that because we know what (can) happen (when) Russians control territories, but we will get it back," she said.

Ukraine has also reported increased air raids, plus heavy shelling, rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire around Bakhmut.

In the city of Soledar in Donetsk, residents have also taken shelter in basements as shells hit the town.

Russia launched the offensive in Ukraine on February 24, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

Western countries have responded to Russia’s operation by backing Ukraine with cash and increasingly heavy weaponry, while imposing unprecedented waves of sanction against Moscow. 

Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a flow of weapons to Kiev will only prolong Russia’s operations.

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