Russia controls 70% of Severo Donetsk
More than 70% of the territory of the Ukrainian city of Sever Donetsk is now under Russian control,
He noted that the fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia in the east of the country is taking place in 35 cities and villages.
Today, Sunday, the Russian army continues to strike the Ukrainian military infrastructure, with the aim of liberating the Donbass lands in eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine continues its desperate defense with material and military support from the West.
Fierce battles are taking place in eastern Ukraine, especially in the cities of Severodonetsk and Lyschansk, where President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of "street fighting".
For its part, the British Ministry of Defense warned that Russia is increasing the use of force to gradually seize areas in and around Severodonetsk. The ministry said via "Twitter" that Russia continues to seek to mobilize more combat units and deploy them in Ukraine, noting that Moscow has probably started, in recent weeks, preparing for the deployment of a third brigade of some combat formations. She added that "Russia will mostly rely on recruiting new elements or reservists to be able to advance new units."
It is clear that Russia is seeking to control all of eastern Ukraine. Major attacks there, and Zelensky appears in liberated Kharkiv to thank the Ukrainian forces there. Severodonetsk seems to be Russia's latest target.
And control of Severodonetsk for Moscow would open the way for another major city, Kramatorsk, in the Donbass Basin, a region that is predominantly Russian-speaking and which Russia wants to fully control. Pro-Russian separatists have controlled parts of this mining-rich region since 2014.
A senior US military official predicted that Russia would take control of the entire Ukrainian region of Luhansk within a few weeks.
The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the cities of Severodonetsk and Lyset-Shansk in Luhansk could fall within a week, which would lead to Russian control of both Lugansk and Donetsk, which together make up the Donbass region.
In a sign of Moscow's insistence on seizing what the Kremlin considers Russian territory, the pro-Moscow administration in Kherson on Saturday handed over Russian passports to a number of residents of the city occupied by Russian forces in southern Ukraine, according to Russian news agencies.
"Heavy street fighting continues in Severodonetsk," President Zelensky said Saturday evening, noting that Ukrainian forces had retaken positions such as Tavresky in the Kherson region and in the Zaporizhia region.
Zelensky called for international pressure to be applied to ensure that Russia lifts its blockade of the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, which would allow securing the necessary exports to spare the world an international food