Russia Would Need Territory Beyond Severodonetsk- UK

Russia will need to capture territory beyond Severodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road, if it wants to fully occupy the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the United Kingdom’s defence ministry has said.

In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry noted that Russia’s ‘capture of the town of Lyman’ supported its main operational effort of encircling Severodonetsk and closing the pocket around Ukrainian forces in Luhansk.

“Heavy shelling continues, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Severodonetsk town,” the ministry said.

It added that “Russia’s progress had been slow” but it was holding gains, likely due to the fact it had mass forces and fires in relatively small areas, which forced it to accept risk elsewhere in occupied territory.

Aljazeera /Shakirat Sadiq