(CN) — Ukraine on Wednesday faced the difficult choice of being forced to abandon the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk as its troops clung onto the city’s industrial zone but were at risk of being cut off.
Since the start of the big battle over Donbas on April 19, fighting in eastern Ukraine has been centered on the capture of Sievierodonetsk and the neighboring city of Lysychansk. Both cities are coming under heavy shelling and images show widespread destruction. Together, the two cities, divided by the Seversky Donets River, had a pre-war population of about 200,000.
The cities make up the last bit of territory still under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk region, which has been at the center of fighting since 2014 when Kremlin-backed armed rebels declared the region independent from Kyiv.
By Wednesday, Ukrainian forces reportedly held onto only the industrial part of Sievierodonetsk and they were at risk of being forced to retreat or continue a desperate fight. Reportedly, there are heated disagreements within Ukraine’s government about whether it is best to fight for every inch of ground in the east, at the risk of losing many troops, or commit to tactical retreats and regroup for counteroffensives with the aid of new advanced Western weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued new statements in an interview with the Financial Times where he vowed his country will not give up any territory before suing for peace. He said victory “should be achieved on the battlefield.”
Zelenskyy also said Russia must be prevented from breaking through Ukrainian defenses in Donbas, the name given to eastern Ukraine.
“I would like people to understand that war can be everywhere, because if there is a breakthrough in the Donbas, it will be very difficult for us,” he said. “Where can they go? If they go to the south of our state, there will be constant missile attacks on the center of Ukraine, on to all our strategic enterprises.”
In a situation similar to what happened in the devastated southeastern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian soldiers and about 800 civilians are reportedly holed up inside the Soviet-era bunkers under the large Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk. In Mariupol, civilians trapped in the Azovstal steelworks were allowed to leave after weeks of negotiations and then Ukrainian soldiers inside the bunkers eventually surrendered.
Elsewhere on the front lines, Russian forces were attacking and making limited progress. Both sides are taking heavy losses and on Tuesday the death of a Russian commander, Major General Roman Kutuzov, was confirmed. Russia has lost several generals in the invasion. U.S. intelligence has reportedly provided Ukraine help with locating the positions of commanders.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces have seized Sviatohirsk, which lies about 40 miles west of Sievierodonetsk. The town is in the Donetsk region and sits on the path Russian forces are seeking to seize so they can encircle Ukrainian forces in Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk.
During battles over Sviatohirsk , a town of about 4,000 people, an important Orthodox monastery – the Sviatohirsk Lavra – came under fire, killing two monks and a nun, according to a church report. Church buildings were also damaged.
Civilians continue to die from Russian shelling, but Ukrainian forces also are accused of continuing to launch rockets at cities held by Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian forces and killing civilians.
Alarm over the war’s dire consequences is heating up as concerns mount over possible global food shortages, a major economic downturn and the spread of unrest and war.
On Tuesday, the World Bank issued a grim outlook report and warned that the global economy faces a long period of weak growth and high inflation – a situation similar to the crippling stagflation of the 1970s. It cut its growth forecast for this year from 4.1% to 2.9%.
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