Russia surrounds Severodonetsk, experts warn that the situation is ‘not good for Ukraine’

The Russian military has begun pushing Ukrainian defenders out of positions in the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. CNN’s Senior International Correspondent, Matthew Chance, reports that the situation does not look good for Ukrainian forces.

Mr. Chance told CNN: “Well, the situation doesn’t look good for the Ukrainian forces. There’s a lot of heavy fighting going on around Severodonetsk, the largest city left under Ukrainian control in Ukraine. eastern Ukraine region”.

“If the Russians take control of Severodonetsk, that also corresponds to a major political victory, it means that Moscow has full control of the Luhansk region, which is an important step towards gaining full control of the region. department of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine”.

“In fact, fighting took place elsewhere, as Ukrainian forces recaptured territory previously attacked by the Russians, killing Russian soldiers and destroying Russian military vehicles. It’s unlikely. saying that the end of the battlefield in eastern Ukraine is over,” he argued.

Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region, told Ukrainian state television that about 15,000 civilians were left behind in Severodonetsk, while 120,000 were believed to have fled from Russian artillery fire.

Preparing for the worst-case scenario, Mr. Gadai said the Ukrainian troops defending Severodonetsk could retreat across the Siverskyi Donets river to the city of Lysychansk.

As Russian forces entered important targets in the Donbass, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation was “extremely difficult”.

The capture of the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk would give Moscow effective control of Luhansk and allow the Kremlin to declare victory after more than three months of fighting.