British intelligence: Severodonetsk is not Ukraine’s last stronghold in Donbass

An explosion in Severodonetsk on May 30 during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces afp

Al Jazeera radio on May 31 quoted an intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defense as saying that Russia would need to gain control of some other places besides Severodonetsk if you want to completely control Donbass – an area consisting of 2 regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s control of the city of Lyman in Donetsk aided efforts to encircle Severodonetsk and encircle Ukrainian forces in Luhansk. However, Russia still has to control the city of Kramatorsk and the main road M04 Dnipro-Donetsk if it wants to control the whole. Donbass.

The British Ministry of Defense said heavy artillery shelling continued, while street fighting appeared to be taking place on the outskirts of Severodonetsk. The report said that the Russian side is advancing slowly but is gradually gaining control with the strategy of concentrating troops and firepower in each small area.

TASS news agency quoted Leonid Pasechnik, leader of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” (LPR), as saying that a third of the city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk province of Ukraine was under the control of this force. .

According to Pasechnik, the fighting is happening in urban areas and progressing more slowly than expected, but the LPR “first and foremost” wants to protect the city’s infrastructure. He said the goal of the LPR was to “liberate” Severodonetsk and the neighboring city of Lysychansk, estimating Ukrainian forces in these directions to number about 10,000.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on Mr. Pasechnik’s statement. However, Ukrainian officials earlier acknowledged that the situation in Donbass was “very difficult”.

Cargo ship to Russia

In another development, the first train left the port Mariupol since Russia took control of this city, and is heading east to Russia.

A spokesman for the Russian-controlled port said last week that the vessel would carry 2,700 tons of metal from Mariupol to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Ukraine accused the Russian move of looting.

Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR), said that the DPR will have its own fleet of merchant ships, after the ships in the port of Mariupol, including some foreign ones, are handed over to them. DPR.

Earlier, the head of the Center for Defense Control of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mizintsev said that six foreign ships are still anchored at Mariupol port, including Princess (Bulgaria), Azburg (Dominican Republic), Smart (Liberia), Blue Star (Panama), Azov Concord (Turkey) and Lady Augusta (Jamaica). TASS news agency reported that Mizintsev said that the countries owning the above ships have not yet taken measures to withdraw the ships.

In Kherson, an area in Ukraine controlled by Russia, ships also began carrying grain to Russia, according to The Washington Post quoted an official appointed by Russia here.

The official said the grain was taken from storage facilities after last year’s harvest, and that the authorities there also plan to transport sunflower seeds from here to be processed at factories in Russia.