Ukraine withdrew from the strategic area in Donbass due to great losses against Russia

Local officials said Ukraine began evacuating troops from Severodonetsk, the strategic eastern city Russia is fighting to take over in an attempt to control the Donbass region.

Ukrainian forces withdrew after suffering heavy losses in the city, which is now about 80% controlled by Russia, The New York Post reported, citing Lugansk region governor Serhiy Haidai as saying.

“This is not a betrayal,” Haidai wrote on Telegram, saying that the retreat across the river to Lysychansk, Severodonetsk’s sister city, was part of a proactive strategy to move to “opportunistic positions.” more profitable and prepared” while waiting for the arrival of Western weapons.

According to Haidai, as of April 1, about 70% of the city is under Russian control, while about 10 to 15% is in the “gray zone” and the rest is held by Ukrainian defenders.

However, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk declined to comment on how much the city had fallen to Moscow.

“I do not want to judge or give any percentage of what we control and do not control. We know the opponent’s goal and are doing everything to prevent them from achieving it,” Motuzyanyk said.

Severodonetsk, 90 kilometers from the Russian border and once home to more than 100,000 people, has largely been evacuated, but Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said the fighting had endangered some 13,000 people still trapped in the city. .

“The situation is very serious and the city is basically being destroyed block by block,” Stryuk said on May 31.

If Russia By capturing Severodonetsk and its sister city Lysychansk, it would take control of the Lugansk region, one of two provinces in the Donbass, eastern Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is losing up to 100 soldiers a day in the battle of Donbass.

“The most difficult situation is in eastern Ukraine and south of Donetsk and Lugansk,” President Zelensky said in an interview with Newsmax. We lost between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the battle killed and about 500 wounded. We are holding the defensive outer rings.”

Zelensky appeared to be hinting that Ukraine would expand the scale of the fighting when it received the weapons that US President Joe Biden promised to provide.

“If our steps or operations to occupy this area or that area result in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, we will wait for the right weapons to save as many of our lives as possible.” – said Mr. Zelensky.

June 1, America The announcement will send Ukraine four modern medium-range missile systems and ammunition. The missile systems are part of a new $700 million US arms package for Ukraine.