Russian Defence Ministry: The city of Severodonetsk of the Luhansk People’s Republic is under the full control of Russian troops
The city of Severodonetsk of the Luhansk People’s Republic is under the full control of Russian troops and the people’s militia of the LPR, announced today the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov :
“The units of the LPR people’s militia with the support of Russian troops under the command of Army General Sergey Surovikin, as a result of successful offensive actions, completely liberated the cities of Severodonetsk and Borovskoye, the settlements of Voronovo and Sirotino of the Luhansk People’s Republic.”
“Thus, the Ukrainian attempt to turn the industrial zone of the Severodonetsk azot plant into a stubborn hotbed of resistance has been thwarted. Currently, the territory of this plant is controlled by the units of the people’s militia of the LPR.“
Russia claims that the entire left-bank territory of Severodonetsk within the borders of the LPR has come under its full control.
After the withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops, Russian units and LPR separatist have strenghtened their positions in Severodonetsk, Sirotino, Voronovo and Borovskoye.
Ukrainian troops withdrew from the destroyed Severodonetsk in the direction of Lysychansk.
The mayor of Severodonetsk Alexander Stryuk confirmed that :
“The city is completely under the occupation of the Russian Federation. They are trying to restore their own order there, they have appointed some of their commandants. The city has been so destroyed that it will be difficult for people to cope with this situation. “
During weeks of bombing and artillery shelling, most of the buildings in Severodonetsk were destroyed. Most of the inhabitants of the city of one hundred thousand, fled to the West.
War in Ukraine since February 24
In the morning of February 24, Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine, with the official goal to “demilitarize Ukraine”, remove the Ukrainian government headed by the President Volodymyr Zelensky and protect the rights of Russians living in Donbass, Eastern Ukraine, a region hit by the war since 2014. In a televised address to Russian citizens, President Vladimir Putin stated that circumstances “require decisive and immediate action from us, the people’s republics of Donbass have asked for help.”
Ukraine and its Western partners sees the Russian military operation as an invasion and imposed strong strong sanctions against Russian state officials, banks, companies and oligarchs, to put pressure on the Russian government and lead it to a ceasefire and a withdrawal from Ukraine.
The Kremlin continues voicing that Moscow’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. The Russian goals would be “demilitarization and denazification” of the country. Moscow also wants Ukraine to return to its neutral status, which was enshrined in the Ukrainian Constitution until 2014 and to offer guarantee of not holding on its territory nuclear weapons.
After the Russian recognition of the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk on February 21 and the entry of Russian troops in the Ukrainian territory in early morning on February 24, the United States and European countries have imposed massive sanctions against Russian state-owned banks, banned technology exports to Russia, denied access to Russia to the U.S. financial market, SWIFT and imposed individual sanctions on Russian officials and their relatives. The European Union has even taken sanctions against the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov.
Every week since February 24 the United States and its Allies have jointly taken restrictive measures against Russian banks and companies, individuals, the central bank of Russia and banned the import of several Russian goods and services. On March 8, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order (E.O.) to ban the import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal to the United States.
