Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk now 'completely under Russian occupation' after months of fighting

[TheProle]

Source: CNN

(CNN)The eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk is "completely under Russian occupation," the city's head of military administration said Saturday, following months of grueling and bloody fighting.

"The [Russians] appointed a commandant. But the city is so destroyed that it will be difficult for people to cope with this situation," said military administration chief Oleksandr Striuk.

Regional military officials said Friday that the last troops in Severodonetsk had been ordered to leave, as it was impossible to keep defending their positions. This effectively ceded the city to Russia and put the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk almost fully under Russian control.

Severodonetsk was one of the last major Ukrainian strongholds in the area. Serhiy Hayday, a top military commander in east Ukraine, said the military made the decision to evacuate "because the number of dead in unfortified territories may grow every day."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/25/europe/russia-invasion-ukraine-06-25-intl/index.html

[Gore1FL]

1. I am glad the Ukrainians were able to pull back effectively.

he advance cost the Russians plenty. The advance is going to be short-lived given their resources.

[Lovie777]

2. Yep . .

UA retreated and I'm pretty sure they are taking pot shots at the Russians, keeping them in the totally destroyed city.

[OnlinePoker]

4. Lysychansk, across the river from Severdonetsk, is on a steppe.

Ukrainian artillery literally looks down on Russian positions and can pick and choose where to shoot.

[keithbvadu2]

3. That will make Carlson and Trump happy.

That will make Carlson and Trump happy.

[oldsoftie]

5. Better to pull back than risk losing a large number of troops to being surrounded.

now GET THEM THE HEAVY WEAPONS.

[blue-wave]

6. The pullback is a strategic decision

Russia lost huge numbers in the battle for this town. They will lose many more as Ukraine targets Russian positions from new Ukrainian positions.

How long can pooty continue with the huge losses of personnel and equipment? Russia's troop losses are now up to 35,000.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3515309-russia-has-already-lost-34850-service-members-in-ukraine.html

[Mysterian]

7. Russia is not occupying cities

They are occupying piles of rubble.

[Nululu]

8. We ignore this genocide at our peril.

What's happened since? Oil prices through the roof and inflation.

We're sitting on the mightiest military in the world when one week of USA Air support would end the conflict.