Ukraine says lost control of Severodonetsk village

• Ukraine says it has lost control of Metyolkine, a village near the eastern industrial city of Severodonetsk.
• Hundreds of civilians are reportedly taking refuge in nearby chemical facility where Russian military are shelling Ukrainian troops from within the city.
• Moscow’s army now controls most of the city’s residential areas.

KYIV: Ukraine announced on Monday that it had lost control of a village near the eastern industrial city of Severodonetsk, which has been the scene of weeks of intense conflict with invading Russian forces.

“Unfortunately, we do not control Metyolkine anymore. And the enemy continues to build up its reserves,” Sergiy Gaiday, the regional governor of Lugansk, stated on social media.

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After being pushed out of areas surrounding the city at the start of their invasion in February, Russian troops have steadily progressed in the eastern Donbas region, where they have centred their offensive efforts.

Russian military are “constantly” shelling the Azot chemical facility in Severodonetsk, where hundreds of civilians are reportedly taking refuge, as per Gaiday.

On Monday, Oleksandr Stryuk, the head of the city’s government, said on Ukrainian television that Moscow’s army controls most of the city’s residential areas.

“If we talk about the whole city, still more than a third is controlled by our armed forces. Russians control the rest,” he stated.

“There are street battles around the clock,” he continued, “and Ukrainian troops are constantly shelled.”

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