Severodonetsk: Most of city controlled by Russian forces, Ukraine says, as
“Nothing has changed in Severodonetsk, the situation remains difficult. Fighting continues, but unfortunately, most of the city is under Russian control. Some positional battles are taking place in the streets,” Serhiy Haidai, the Governor of Luhansk, said.
Russian-backed officials claim that negotiations are ongoing to release those inside the local Azot chemical plant, where 800 people are reportedly sheltering.
“The combatants are holed up inside the Azot plant. The release of their hostages and their surrender is being negotiated,” Rodion Miroshnik, a leader in the Russian-allied Luhansk People’s Republic, said.
Miroshnik claimed up to 400 Ukrainian combatants are taking refuge in the factory complex, alongside civilians in the plant’s bomb shelter.
“The combatants are trying to make demands, namely to allow them to leave the territory of the chemical plant together with the hostages and to provide a corridor to go to Lysychansk. Such demands are unacceptable and will not be taken into consideration,” Miroshnik said.
Talks are also underway to allow for the safe evacuation of the civilians, and for the safety of the Ukrainian forces if they surrender unconditionally, he added.
Death toll climbs in Mariupol
Further south in Mariupol, an additional 24 deaths of children were reported by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Saturday, following Russian shelling during a months-long siege in the southern port city.
The blockade ended last month after Russian forces took control of the Azovstal steel plant where Ukrainian forces had holed up.
This brings the total death toll of minors during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to 287, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a Telegram post. More than 492 children have been injured during the war, according to the statement.
The statement added that these figures are not complete, as work is underway to verify the deaths of children in other places where there is active fighting.
The office also said that 1,971 educational institutions have been damaged by Russian bombardments, with 194 of them having been completely destroyed.
On May 25, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor, Petro Andrushchenko — who has also moved to Ukrainian-held territory — told CNN that Mariupol town hall officials believe at least 22,000 residents of the city were killed during three months of war.
Access to drinking water, internet connection and phone services are unreliable in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, the report said, reflecting concerns of Ukrainian officials as Russia scrambles to provide basic public services to civilian populations in areas it has occupied.
‘Ukraine will definitely prevail’
As Russian forces advance their control of key regions in Ukraine, and the number of civilian casualties rise, President…
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