According to the General Staff in Kyiv, the Russian troops had “partial success” in fighting in the embattled city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. The enemy is in control of the eastern part of the city, the Ukrainian military command said last night. The storm on the big city continues, it was said.
The pro-Russian separatists claimed they had already taken control of more than 70 percent of the city. Sieverodonetsk is the administrative center in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Luhansk region. There has been fighting there for days.
City with symbolic meaning
Should Russian troops capture the city, they would have complete control over the Luhansk region. Taking the Luhansk and Donetsk regions is one of the goals set by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Gajday, said on Tuesday that most of Sievjerodonetsk is now under Russian control. Still, the Ukrainian defenders didn’t give up.
Ninety percent of the city’s buildings are damaged, and 60 percent are not worth rebuilding, he said. It is expected that the pro-Russian separatists, with Moscow’s help, will continue their westward advance and then take control of the Donetsk region.
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