Battle for Donbas twin cities reaches ‘fearsome climax’, says Ukraine

KYIV, June 23 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow’s massive air and artillery attacks were aimed at destroying the entire Donbas region and urged Ukraine’s allies to accelerate the shipment of heavy weapons to match Russia on the battlefield.

The fight for the twin cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in Ukraine’s Luhansk region is “entering a sort of fearsome climax”, said Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Zelenskiy. Russia is seeking to capture both Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the Donbas region – the nation’s industrial heartland.

On the diplomatic front, European leaders on Thursday will formally set Ukraine on the long road to EU membership at a summit in Brussels. Though mainly symbolic, the move will help lift morale after four-months of bloody conflict that has killed thousands, displaced millions and destroyed cities.

“We must free our land and achieve victory, but more quickly, a lot more quickly,” Zelenskiy said in a video address released early Thursday, reiterating Ukrainian demands for larger and faster weapons.

“There were massive air and artillery strikes in Donbas. The occupier’s goal here is unchanged, they want to destroy the entire Donbas step-by-step,” he said.

“This is why we again and again emphasize the acceleration of arm deliveries to Ukraine. What is quickly needed is parity on the battlefield in order to halt this diabolical armada and push it beyond Ukraine’s borders.”

BATTLE FOR TWIN CITIES

The fierce war of attrition in the Donbas is at its most critical in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.

Ukrainian forces were defending Sievierodonetsk and the nearby settlements of Zolote and Vovchoyrovka, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Thursday, but added Russia had captured Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka to the south.

Hundreds of civilians are trapped in a chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, with Ukraine and Russia disputing who controls the bombed-out city.

Moscow says Ukrainian forces in the city are surrounded and trapped. But Gaidai told Ukrainian Television on Wednesday that “Russian forces do not have full control.”

On Lysychansk, Gaidai said it was “very dangerous in the city” as all of it was within reach of Russian fire.

“In order to avoid encirclement, our command could order that the troops retreat to new positions. There may be a regrouping after last night,” he added.

Tass news agency cited Russian-backed separatists saying Lysychansk was now surrounded and cut off from supplies after a road connecting the city to the town Sieviersk was taken.

Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the report.

According to Britain’s defence ministry, Russian forces have highly likely advanced more than 5 km (3.11 miles) towards the southern approaches of Lysychansk since June 19.

“Some Ukrainian units have withdrawn, probably to avoid being encircled,” it said on Twitter.

“Russian forces are putting the Lysychansk-Sievierodonetsk pocket under increasing pressure with this creeping advance … however, its…