Russian artillery is bombarding an industrial zone where 500 civilians are sheltering in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, the regional governor has said. Serhiy Haidai said a bridge out of the city had been blown up, as fears grow for those who have not yet managed to leave. Ukrainian troops in Sievierodonetsk must “surrender or die”, a Russian-backed separatist leader in the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk said.
Russian forces have taken most of Sievierodonetsk, where fierce street fighting continues after a fire broke out at the Azot chemical plant, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in his nightly video address that Russia’s military was trying to deploy reserve forces to the Donbas region. Ukrainian troops reportedly remain in control of an industrial area.
