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Zelenskyy ties fate of east Ukraine to battle for Sievierodonetsk

'The fighting is still going on, our forces are defending Sievierodonetsk'

zelenskyy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy | AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, fighting for Sievierodonetsk might decide the fate of the war in the eastern region of the country. "In many respects, the fate of the Donbas is being decided there," Zelenskyy told BBC. He also said that Ukrainian troops were inflicting major losses on the enemy forces as combat raged in the city with Russian and separatist forces. 

Governor of the Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai said that Ukrainian forces have been pushed to the outskirts after Russia "started levelling the area with shelling and air strikes". 

"Our forces now again control only the outskirts of the city. But the fighting is still going on, our forces are defending Sievierodonetsk," Haidai told BBC.

In the meantime, the Mayor of Sievierodonetsk Oleksandr Stryuk told Reuters that the situation in the city is “difficult, but manageable.” He, however, said that evacuation is now impossible as about 10,000 civilians are remaining in the city.

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