Russian forces destroy the sprawling Severodonetsk plant
The Ukrainian military said on Friday that the sprawling Azot chemical plant in the heavily besieged city of Severodonetsk had been almost completely destroyed by shelling with Russian missiles, amid concerns about the fate of civilians sheltering at the site.
"There are no longer any proper administrative buildings in the area of the chemical giant," Serhiy Hayday, governor of the Luhansk region, wrote on the Telegram app.
Haiday added that the Ukrainian forces continue to resist the Russian attack, which has been going on for weeks.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made similar observations in its daily report on the situation.
"Fighting over the complete control of Severodonetsk continues," the report said, and as Russia moved more artillery into the area, the General Staff and the governor of Luhansk reported that an attack on the suburb of Solot had been repelled.
While Russia captured the city's residential areas, Ukrainian forces holed up in the industrial areas and the chemical plant.
It was reported that the remaining civilians in the city were trapped in the factory, while all evacuation attempts failed.
Kyiv stated that a major Russian attack on the strategically important city of Sloviansk (west of Severodonetsk) has so far been unsuccessful.
The General Staff noted the success in repelling a Russian attempt to seize a municipality about 20 km from Sloviansk.
British intelligence stated that the Russian forces, during the past 24 hours, likely continued to try to restore momentum in the Popasna axis, through which it seeks to besiege the Severodonetsk pocket from the south.
The Ukrainian General Staff said that Russia launched more air strikes in the Donetsk region and used heavy artillery in bombing operations in southern Ukraine, on the borders of Kherson and Mykolaiv, where Ukraine also launched several air strikes on advanced Russian centers.
The British Prime Minister made his second surprise visit to Kiev since the invasion began, amid a warm welcome from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Several days of this war have proven that Great Britain’s support for Ukraine is firm and resolute,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
I am delighted to see our dear friend Boris Johnson in Kyiv again.”
In Russia, criticism of the invasion of Ukraine is set to be criminalized, while skepticism of the war is especially strong among the Russian business elite and the Russian elite.
"Immigration applications indicate that 15,000 Russian millionaires are likely already trying to leave the country," the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily report.
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