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Ukrainian soldiers have been ordered to withdraw from resistance to the Russian military in the southeastern city of Severodonetsk this afternoon, a senior regional official said.
Western media wrote that the city has been attacked for several weeks by Russian forces seeking to take full control of the region, writes the British network BBC.
Today’s withdrawal of the Ukrainian army means that the entire Luhansk region remains under Russian control, except for the city of Lysychansk.
Luhansk, the Russian-speaking region in eastern Ukraine, is a priority for leader Vladimir Putin’s army.
Together with Donetsk, the region constitutes what is collectively known as the Donbas – the vast industrial area where clashes with the Kiev military have been heavy since 2014, when Ukraine’s pro-Russian government ousted.
Russia says the Russian-speaking population of Donbas has been the victim of attacks and genocide by the Ukrainian government, but this has been dismissed by Kiev as an excuse for invading Ukraine.
Severodonetsk has been the target of fierce Russian artillery attacks where the last area of resistance was the Nitrogen industrial plant on the outskirts of the city.
The Russian military has destroyed all bridges to isolate the city and the withdrawal of Ukraine could be an attempt to avoid a complete siege of the area, writes the BBC.
“Ukrainian forces have been ordered to withdraw to new positions… and to continue operations from there,” Luhansk regional leader Serhiy Haidai told Ukrainian television.
He added that the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed and most of the houses have been damaged.
Several hundred soldiers and civilians are still believed to be housed at the Nitrogen chemical plant in Severodonetsk.
Haidai added that it would be “very difficult” for the Russians to capture the next city, Lysychansk, as it is located on a hill and “has many defensive positions”.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense has said that the Ukrainian forces of the cities of Zolote and Hirske have surrendered.
In another development on Friday, the Russian-appointed official in the southern city of Kherson was killed by a car bomb, according to Russian agencies.
Several Kremlin-based officials have been attacked in the Kherson region.
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