New Delhi: Sergiy Gaiday, the governor of Lugansk region, on Monday said that Russian shells hit Ukraine's Severodonetsk, killing at least ten people, news agency AFP reported. According to an Associated Press source, the governor of the Lugansk area, Sergiy Gaiday, stated that "Russians are pounding Severodonetsk without pausing." "At least ten people were killed. It is currently extremely difficult to check the area due to new shelling," he said in a statement on Telegram.
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Russia has focussed its attention at Severodonetsk, the easternmost city still held by Ukrainian forces after more than 11 weeks of war.
As the endeavour to establish a larger encirclement of Ukraine's defensive troops in the Donbas looks to have failed, the Russians are gradually launching an assault on Severodonetsk, an industrial city with a population of 100,000 before the conflict, the Guardian reported.
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According to the US Institute for the Study of War, "Russian forces have likely abandoned the objective of completing a large-scale encirclement of Ukrainian units from Donetsk City to Izium” in favour of seizing the remainder of the Luhansk region, of which Severodonetsk is part, the Guardian reported.
During the 11 weeks of combat, Russia gained substantial territory, taking the south coast from Kherson to Mariupol — where fighting around the steel industry continues – and 90% of Luhansk.
(With Agencies Inputs)