Take control of next city by daybreak, Putin tells troops

RUSSIAN forces were closing in on the centre of Severodonetsk last night as they fought to meet Vladimir Putin’s demands and seize the city by daybreak.

The dictator ordered his men to take it by today before capturing the neighbouring region of Donetsk by July 1, according to Kremlin sources.

Invading troops have unleashed a ‘near constant bombardment’ as they desperately try to meet his

‘Attacking from all sides’

timetable. Despite the onslaught it appeared that Ukraine had defied Putin once more as defending forces still held around half of the city last night.

But the local governor said troops could yet retreat over the river rather than be captured should the Russian troops gain the upper hand.

Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said yesterday that the Russians were ‘trying to attack the city from all sides’ and had already entered. But he added: ‘We have our boys there and they’re fighting back, so the Russians cannot move freely.’

He described the situation as ‘grave’ in the town where over 15,000 civilians are cowering in basements with no way out. Russia has been accused of shooting an ambulance and targeting a hospital there. Military experts believe Putin has made a huge strategic mistake by ‘putting everything’ he has into the battle for Severodonetsk.

Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO, said: ‘It’s not that important in the fight overall, and I do think the Ukrainians will be able to regroup and push back.’ He said Russia’s advances had been ‘chaotic’.

Moscow was accused of further war crimes after claims it ‘insidiously’ bombed a residential area in Slovyansk, Donetsk. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told people to evacuate, saying: ‘There are no safe places in Donetsk.’

It comes as Russia agreed to hand over the bodies of 152 Ukrainian soldiers found underneath the Azovstal steel plant after the fall of Mariupol.