“The [Russians] Appointed a commander. But the city has been devastated to the point where it is difficult for people to cope, ”said Alexander Strick, the army’s chief executive.
Regional military officials said on Friday that the last troops in Severdonetsk had been ordered to leave because their positions could not be maintained. It effectively ceded the city to Russia and the eastern Ukrainian part of Luhansk came under almost complete Russian control.
Severodonetsk is one of the last large Ukrainian forts in the region. Serhiy Hayday, the top military commander in eastern Ukraine, said the decision to expel the army was “because the death toll in unarmed areas is increasing every day.”
“Currently, there is no possibility of leaving the city. People can only try to leave in the direction of the occupied area. We will facilitate the evacuation, but so far there is no such opportunity,” Strike said.
Hundreds of civilians took refuge in the Azote chemical plant and were rejected for leaving. Earlier on Saturday, Hodey said Russian forces were still shelling the plant.
“The public is leaving the area of the Azote plant, they [the Russians] Shoot campaign videos with them. People spent almost 3 months in foundations and shelters. At the moment, they need physical and psychological help, “Strike added.
Avalanche of missile strikes
Ukraine has been hit by an avalanche of missile strikes, with official estimates that Russia has fired more than 40 missiles into Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
North of the Slovenes, the Ukrainian military has announced months of ongoing fighting in the front lines. The Russians used artillery and air strikes against Ukrainian positions about 20 kilometers north of the city.
Explosions have been reported by the regional military administration in Zhytomyr in central Ukraine, with one soldier killed and another wounded, although the mayor said Zhytomyr did not “attack” himself. The head of the military administration said that “about 10 missiles” were shot down by Ukrainian guards. Regional officials in Lviv in western Ukraine have also announced missile strikes against military facilities.
Attacks continue in eastern Ukraine
On Saturday, General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said that Russian efforts to cut off the main road from Bakmut to Lysyansk continued. It said Ukrainian troops had blocked the advance of the Russian infantry near Volodymyrovka, about 5 kilometers from the highway. But civil servants admitted that the Russians had advanced 1 km as they approached Baghmud.
Russia’s goal appears to be to cut off Ukrainian forces from the pockets of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. If they seize the egg, they will be able to thwart most redeployment efforts for Ukrainian guards in Lysyansk and surrounding districts.
Ukraine says the attack was carried out from Belarusian airspace
“Missile strikes from the Belarusian region are a large-scale provocation of the Russian Federation to further involve Belarus in the war against Ukraine,” the directorate said.
It said, “Russian bombers fired directly from Belarus. Six Tu-22M3 aircraft were involved, including 12 Kh-22 cruise missiles.” The Directorate said the missiles were fired from the air above the Petrikov district in southern Belarus.
“After firing the missiles, they returned to Shaikhovka airport in Russia. The strike began in Kiev, Chernihiv and Sumi.”
“This is the first case of an airstrike directly on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus,” the directorate said. CNN cannot confirm that allegation.
The Ukrainian Air Force Command echoed the comments of the Ministry of Defense, stating on its Facebook page that “more than fifty different types of missiles have been launched: air, sea and ground based.”
There has been no word from the Belarusian government that it has used its airspace for recent attacks against Ukraine.
Ukraine denies Russian attack on Polish ‘mercenaries’
According to local officials and the Russian Defense Ministry, a Russian missile struck the city of Konstantinovka in Donetsk on Saturday.
But the versions of both sides of the target are different. Oleksii Roslov, head of the Kostiantynivka Civil Military Administration, said one object of critical infrastructure had been attacked, killing one person and affecting the gas supply.
The Russian Defense Ministry released a short video of the missile attack, which claimed that up to 80 Polish mercenaries had been killed and that rocket launchers had been fired at the Megadex plant in Kostyandinivka.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said: “The enemy continues to suffer significant casualties. . “
Roslov denied the request. “There was no army there. Many were there after the strike, and everyone can confirm that there was no army,” Roslov told CNN.
There are about 45,000 people in the city, which is a little far from the front row.
CNN’s Jim Chiuto, Sebastian Shukla and Joshua Berlinger contributed to the report.
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