Russia nears to surround two key cities in Donbas

Ukrainian forces will probably have to pull out of Severodonjeck, one of two major resistance cities east of the country that Russian forces are close to surrounding, an official warned. This announcement comes as Britain said Moscow needs an acute victory in Donbas as political justification for the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the current situation in the Donbas region as a very difficult “”.

Russian “Forces have concentrated their efforts on Donbas, using artillery attacks and missile attacks, while Ukrainian forces are protecting our land in order to allow defence sources to be granted”, Ukrainian President Volody Zelensky said during an address on May 27th night.

Russian troops have made rapid progress in the Luhansk region, focusing on the cities of Severodonjeck and Lisicansk.

Continued artillery attacks have almost completely destroyed Severodonjeck and killed hundreds of civilians, city officials said.

Serhiy Hayday, governor of Luhansk, said on May 28th that there are close to 10,000 Russian troops in the region and that the Russians have already entered some parts of Severonjeck.

The “is possible in order not to give up, they [Ukrainian] will have to leave”, Hayday said.
Severodonjekut Mayor Olesandri Stryuk said at least 1,500 people have been killed in the city since Russia started firing Ukraine on 24 February.

Close to 12,000 to 13,000 people continue to be in the city, he said. Severodonjeck had a population of about 100,000 before the war began.

Meanwhile, the British Defence Ministry said on May 28th that Russian forces have probably taken most of Lieman's territory, an area west of SeverodonJeck and according to British intelligence, this appears to be the initial operation of the upcoming phase of the Russian offensive.

Ukraine has also said that the Russians have taken over the majority of Lieman and that its forces are hampering the Russian progress in the southwest.

British intelligence estimated that Russia would likely place a priority on taking over the Severski Donjeck River, which separates Severodonjeck from the town of Lisicanscu.

Moscow has set taking over the entire eastern region of Donbas as a key target after failing to take over Kiev.

In the bulletin, the British Defence Ministry estimated that “if Russia succeeds in taking control of these areas, in the Kremlin it will likely be seen as political victories and presented before the Russian people as an excuse for the” invasion.