Severodonetsk fell to Russia after one of the bloodiest battles of the war in Ukraine

KYIV / POKROVSK — Russian troops Completely occupied, the mayor of a city in eastern Ukraine said on Saturday. Some of the bloodiest battles in the war.

Ukraine called the withdrawal from the city a "tactical withdrawal" in order to fight from the hills of Rissichansk on the other side of the Siverskidnets River. Pro-Russian separatists said Moscow's army is currently attacking Lisichansk.

The collapse of Sievierodnetsk, once home to more than 100,000 people, was Russia's greatest victory since it occupied the port of Mariupol last month. It will change the eastern battlefield a few weeks after Moscow's great advantage in thermal power has only made slow profits.

Russia now wants to push the banks on the other side to occupy more land, while Ukraine pays for Moscow to occupy the ruins of a small city, He wants to make the Russian army vulnerable to counterattacks. several weeks.

"This city is currently under complete occupation of Russia. As far as I know I have appointed some kind of commander, they are trying to establish their own order. "There is," Mayor Olexandre Strike said on national television.

Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian military intelligence director to Reuters, Ukrainian to Sievierodnetsk He said he was carrying out a "tactical reorganization" by pulling him to a hill on the other side of the river.

"Russia uses tactics ... it was used in Mariupol: sweeping the city from the surface of the earth," he said. "Given the conditions, it is no longer possible to maintain defense in ruins and fields, so Ukrainian troops are leaving for higher ground to continue their defense operations."

Russia Interfax spokesman quoted pro-Russian separatist fighter representatives as saying that Russian and pro-Russian troops had crossed the river into Lysychansk and were fighting in urban areas there. Did.

'IT WAS HORROR'

In Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian-owned town of Donbus, Elena, an elderly woman in a Rissichansk wheelchair, has dozens of refugees. I was inside. She arrived by bus from the front line.

"Last week, Lisichansk, it was horrible. I couldn't stand it anymore yesterday. Thanks to the soldiers who evacuated us from there. Otherwise, that's it. It would have been, "she said. "If I die, I've already told my husband, bury me behind the house."

The largest in Europe since World War II entered its fifth month Due to the land conflict, Russian missiles also poured into the western, northern and southern parts of the country.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops across the border, killing thousands and unleashing a conflict that eradicated millions. It also caused an energy and food crisis that has shaken the world economy.

The defeat of Russian troops in the attack on the capital Kiif in March shifted the focus to the eastern territory of Luhansk and Donetsk. Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk were the last major Ukrainian fortresses in Luhansk.

The Russians have recently crossed the river by force and are heading towards Lisichansk, threatening to surround the Ukrainians in the region.

The capture of Sievierodonetsk could be seen as evidence of Russia's switch from an early failed attempt at the "Lightning War" to a relentless attack using large eastern artillery.

Moscow states that Luhansk and Donetsk, who have been supporting the uprising since 2014, are independent countries. It requires Ukraine to transfer the entire territory of the two states to a separatist government.

Ukrainian officials never had the great hope of holding Sievierodnetsk indefinitely, but they ran out of Russian troops and counterattacked the invading troops. Wanted to pay high enough to be vulnerable to.

Ukrainian top general Valerie Zargini wrote that she arrived on the Telegram app on Saturday. The advanced HIMARS rocket system supplied by the United States has been deployed to achieve the target in the Russian occupied territories of Ukraine.

Asked about the possibility of a counterattack in the South, Budanov, Ukrainian military intelligence director, said Ukraine should start seeing results "from August."

"Wait a minute, we'll see what it brings," he told Reuters.

Russian missiles also attacked elsewhere throughout Ukraine overnight with unusually large volleys.

"48 cruise missiles. At night. All over Ukraine," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. "Russia is still threatening Ukraine, causing panic and scaring people."

The Governor of the Revere region of western Ukraine has six from the Black Sea at a base near the Polish border. Said the missile was launched. Four hit the target, but two were destroyed.

In the north, the governor of the Zhytomyr region said at least one soldier was killed in an attack on a military target. Mayor Mikolive, near the Black Sea in the south, said five cruise missiles struck the city and its surroundings on Saturday.

Russia denies targeting civilians. Kib and the West say Russian troops have committed war crimes against civilians.

Western support for Ukraine

Despite the retreat of the battlefield, Kyiv imposes sanctions on Russia and sends weapons to Ukraine from the West Won the support of.

The war has had a major impact on global economic and European security arrangements, pushing up gas, oil and food prices, reducing excessive reliance on Russia's energy for the EU, and for Finland and Sweden. Membership that encouraged you to seek NATO.

Leaders of seven rich democratic groups will be able to show long-term support for Ukraine and discuss how to tighten Russia's screws at a three-day summit in Germany starting Sunday. It is expected.

Participating British Prime Minister Boris Johnson may face pressure to agree on a peace agreement with Ukraine, which could threaten international security as a result of Putin's advance into Ukraine. He said he was worried about it.

As a major sign of support, European Union leaders have approved a formal Ukrainian candidacy this week. Russia said on Friday that it was equivalent to the "enslavement" of its neighbors in the EU.