Ukrainian forces now control half of Severodonetsk
As the see-saw battle raged on for the strategically important city of Severodonetsk -- the largest in the Lugansk region not under Russian control -- more help was promised from abroad.
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Severodonetsk, Jun 6:Ukrainian troops have beaten back Russian forces to control half of a flashpoint eastern city, local officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front lines to support his country's "true heroes".
As the see-saw battle raged on for the strategically important city of Severodonetsk -- the largest in the Lugansk region not under Russian control -- more help was promised from abroad.
The United Kingdom said it would follow the United States and send long-range missile systems to Ukraine, defying warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin against supplying Kyiv with advanced weapons. Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24. Fighting since April has been concentrated in the east of the country, where Russian forces have made slow but steady advances after being beaten back from other parts of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv. Ukraine's gains in Severodonetsk, announced by regional governor Sergiy Gaiday, would represent a significant advance by Kyiv's troops, who earlier appeared on the verge of being driven out of the city. "The Armed Forces have cleared half of Severodonetsk and are moving forward," Gaiday posted on Telegram. However, he warned in a video in the same post that a major new Russian push on the industrial hub appeared imminent. Across a river in the neighboring city of Lysychansk, pensioner Oleksandr Lyakhovets said he had just enough time to save his cat before the flames engulfed his flat after it was hit by a Russian missile. "They shoot here endlessly... It's a horror show," the 67-year-old told AFP. Lysychansk was among areas visited Sunday by Zelensky, who "got himself acquainted with the operational situation on the front line of defense", the presidency said. He also visited Bakhmut, to the southwest in the Donetsk region of the Donbas, and talked with servicemen, his office said. "I want to thank you for your great work, for your service, for protecting all of us, our state. I am grateful to everyone," he told them.
"I am proud of everyone whom I met, whom I shook hands with, with whom I communicated, whom I supported," Zelensky said in his daily evening address after his visit. "Each family has its own story. Most were without men," he said. "Someone's husband went to war, someone's is in captivity, someone's, unfortunately, died. A tragedy. No home, no loved one. But we must live for the children. True heroes –- they are among us."