Sievierodonetsk's fate in balance as fighting rages in east Ukraine

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A Ukrainian soldier is in position during heavy fighting on the front line in Severodonetsk, the Luhansk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

 

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces pounded an eastern Ukrainian city Thursday and the two sides waged pitched street battles that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said could determine the fate of the critical Donbas region.

 

In the wake of a series of setbacks in the 3-month-old war, Russia set its sights on the industrial Donbas region of coal mines and factories, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian troops for years and where they already held swaths of territory before the invasion.

 

But, as elsewhere, the Russian advance has not been as quick as expected, and the plodding battle for control of Sievierodonetsk has devolved into street-to-street fighting that has been relatively rare in the conflict.

 

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https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-moscow-business-blockades-74883ed750fb8778259cf733e1095fb8

 

 

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Russian Attacks on Kharkiv Shatter Recent Calm, Pose Dilemma for Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian troops shelled the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and other border towns overnight, bringing fresh violence to a region trying to rebuild after months of bombing and highlighting a problem for Kyiv of how to respond.

 

The latest attacks on Kharkiv, which is near the Russian border, came as Russian and Ukrainian forces continued fighting in the strategically important city of Severodonetsk, southeast of Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas area.

 

Ukrainian officials in the Kharkiv area have accused Russian forces of launching attacks from inside Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. At the same time, Ukraine is dependent on Western arms, and the U.S. has imposed conditions that prevent Kyiv from using new rocket systems to strike Russian territory.

 

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-attacks-on-kharkiv-shatter-recent-calm-pose-dilemma-for-ukraine/ar-AAYfRat