Shells split Ukr. city ‘in half’: mayor

Russian forces continued their merciless fight to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk on Tuesday, in a battle that the local mayor said has split the bombed-out Donbas town “in half.”

Severodonetsk, once home to a little more than 100,000 people, has essentially been divided down the middle, with Russians controlling between a third and a half of the city.

“Unfortunately . . . the city has been split in half. But at the same time the city still defends itself. It is still Ukrainian,” Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said.

Stryuk said heavy fighting is ongoing and artillery assaults continue to threaten the lives of an estimated 13,000 Ukrainians trapped in the city.

“The situation is very serious and the city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block,” he said.

Tormented by shelling

Evacuation efforts have been hampered by the relentless bombardment, which has turned the city into a wasteland where residents have no electricity, water or cell service, he said.

“Civilians are dying from direct strikes, from fragmentation wounds and under the rubble of destroyed buildings, since most of the inhabitants are hiding in basements and shelters,” Stryuk said.

He added Ukrainians are still resisting Moscow’s efforts to capture Severodonetsk, the last city in the Luhansk province still in Ukrainian control.

“The Ukrainian military continues to resist this frenzied push and aggression by Russian forces,” he said.

Circling central hub

Regional governor Serhiy Haidai said the Russians are moving toward the city’s center at a slow clip. In a worst-case scenario, Haidai warned that Ukraine’s troops would have to flee across the Siverskyi Donets river to Severodonetsk’s twin city, Lysychansk.

Military analysts said Russia recalled troops to the Donbas to zero in on seizing Severodonetsk, which is 90 miles south of the Russian border.

“We can say already that a third of Severodonetsk is already under our control,” Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the pro-Moscow Luhansk People’s Republic, told Russian state media.

The battle for the strategic city came as the European Union announced it would block even more Russian imports, saying 90% of Russian gas brought to the EU will be cut by the end of the year.