Ukrainians fear repeat of Mariupol terror

MOSCOW-BACKED separatists have pounded eastern Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region, as Ukrainian officials pleaded for sophisticated Western weapons to stop the onslaught.

The advance of Russian forces has raised fears that cities in the region will undergo the same horrors inflicted on the people of the port city Mariupol in the weeks before it fell.

The fighting in Donbas is focused on two key cities: Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk.

They are the last areas under

Ukrainian control in Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas and where Russia-backed separatists have already controlled some territory for eight years.

Authorities say 1,500 people in Sievierodonetsk have already died since the war began three months ago. Russia-backed rebels also said they have taken the railway hub of Lyman.

The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, warned that Ukrainian soldiers may have to retreat from Sievierodonetsk to avoid being surrounded.

However, he predicted an ultimate Ukrainian victory, saying on Telegram: “The Russians will not be able to capture Luhansk region in the coming days, as analysts predict.

“We will have enough forces and means to defend ourselves.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnskyy also struck a defiant tone. In his nightly video address, he said: “If the occupiers think that Lyman or Sievierodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong. Donbas will be Ukrainian.”

For now, Sievierodonetsk mayor Oleksandr Striuk told The Associated Press “the city is being systematically destroyed – 90% of the buildings in the city are damaged”.

Mr Striuk described conditions in Sievierodonetsk reminiscent of the battle for Mariupol. The port city was barraged by Russian forces in a near three-month siege that ended last week when Russia claimed its capture.