Fireworks soar in the city of Severodonetsk in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are conducting a concentrated offensive while surrounded by Russian forces on the 26th. Severodonetsk = AFP Yonhap News
The Russian offensive continues to take over the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. The attack is concentrated in Severodonetsk, where the Ukrainian army’s main supply route passes.
According to foreign media such as CNN on the 28th (local time), Luhansk Governor Serhi Haidai said a Russian shelling struck downtown Severodonetsk on the same day, destroying more than 60 houses and leaving at least two people dead in the rubble. said to have been found. Fierce battles also took place on the outskirts of the city. Severodonetsk, a small town with a population of 100,000 and a strategically important location, is under siege by Russian forces and is under intense attack.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had captured Severodonetsk along with Riemann this week in the Donbas region, but Severodonetsk denied this. Severodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Streuk said: “The fiercest battle is taking place around the Mir Hotel. The city has been bombarded with constant bombardment,” he told CNN.
The day before, Governor Haidai announced that “Ukrainian forces are desperately defending Severodonetsk, where about two-thirds are besieged by the enemy.” “The enemy’s shelling is very strong,” he added. “About 90% of residential areas in Severodonetsk were damaged.”
The Ukrainian military is confident that it can hold the city, although it is difficult to supply supplies by road to Severodonetsk. “There are still opportunities to reach the city,” Strieuk said. Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on the same day that Russian troops had suffered heavy losses in the Severodonetsk area and withdrew from some occupied territories, and continued reconnaissance in the area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed confidence in the defense, although the situation in Donbas, including Severodonetsk, was still difficult. In his speech, he said, “It is only a matter of time,” he said. “The time for Ukraine’s liberation is getting closer every day.” It is argued that the time to surpass the Russian army in terms of supply of weapons is moving forward, and that it will soon be ahead of conventional attack power as well.
In the next few days, the battle ships are expected to decide the masters of Severodonetsk. “The next few days will be decisive in the Battle of Severodonetsk,” said Pedir Benislavsky, a member of the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee of the Ukrainian parliament. “But we should note that the Russian army is outside Severodonetsk,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the port city of Mykolayu in southeastern Ukraine, Russian shells fell on a residential area where a kindergarten was located, killing at least one and injuring six, President Zelensky said in a speech. The Russians fired two missiles at the affected area, one in the courtyard of a high-rise building and the other near a kindergarten, CNN reported.
Kim Cheong-hwan reporter chk@hankookilbo.com
