6:52 a.m .: Donbass ravaged by a fierce battle, Severodonetsk threatened
The Russian noose in the Donbass mining basin is tightening, especially around Severodonetsk where "the enemy carried out assault operations", according to a report by the Ukrainian army general staff published on Sunday.
"Russia has used all its means to seize Severodonetsk or to prevent any communication between the region and Ukraine," said Sergii Gaïdaï, the governor of the Lugansk region, on his Telegram account on Saturday evening.
"Next week will be very tough", he admitted, considering however that the Russian forces "will not be able to achieve everything they plan in the near future".
"The Russians have brought a lot of means to take the city by storm but cannot do it yet", assured for his part the mayor of Severodonetsk, Olexander Stryuk.
"We think the city will resist," he insisted.
He warned of the worsening health situation in this city of 100,000 inhabitants before the war.
The "constant bombardments" greatly complicate the supply - especially of drinking water - of the city, which has been without electricity for more than two weeks, he wrote on Saturday evening on his Telegram account.
The activity of the city's "humanitarian aid center" has been suspended, he said.
With AFP
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