Ukraine holds on to critical city
Lysychansk (Ukraine), June 10: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were “holding on” in the flashpoint eastern city of Severodonetsk where intense street battles with Russian troops could determine the fate of the Donbas region. Moscow has concentrated its firepower on the industrial city, which it now mostly controls, with the area’s governor saying on Friday that Russian forces had destroyed a major sports arena.
Pro-Russian rebels sentenced one Moroccan and two British fighters to death on Thursday after they were captured while fighting for Ukraine and accused of acting as mercenaries for Kyiv.
Zelensky said in his evening address on Thursday that several “cities in Donbas, which the occupiers now consider key targets, are holding on”.
He added that Ukrainian forces have made positive strides in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions outside Donbas, and are in the process of “liberating our land”.
With the fiercest fighting now concentrated in Severodonetsk, governor Sergiy Gaiday — who earlier called for Western artillery to quickly help secure a Ukrainian victory — said “one of the symbols of Severodonetsk was destroyed. The Ice Palace burned down.” People in the town of Lysychansk, which is located near Severodonetsk, spoke to AFP about the stark choices the war has forced on them: either stay and brave the shelling, or flee and abandon their homes.
Yevhen Zhyryada, 39, said the only way to access water is by heading to a water distribution site in the town.
“We have there under shelling, and under fire,” he said. “This is how we survive.” But others have chosen to pack up their belongings and get as far away from the fighting as possible.
“Life made me leave. The constant shelling. And also my grandson. My grandson pleaded with me: 'Grandma, come to us.' Only it's not clear for me where to go, I left their address at home,” Lyubov Akatyeva, 65, said.
Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said around 100 Ukrainian soldiers were being killed every day in frontline fighting and as many as 500 wounded. Western countries have provided weapons and aid to Ukraine since the February 24 invasion, while some people from abroad have joined the fight against Russian forces. —