19:08
Russian forces have established full control over the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk and the nearby town of Borivske, a senior defense ministry official said in a statement on Saturday.
Reuters reports:
Ukrainian officials said earlier in the day that their troops had withdrawn from Sievierodonetsk after a prolonged battle with regular Russian troops and fighters from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).
“As a result of successful offensive operations, units of the people’s militia of the LPR, with the support of Russian troops ... completely liberated the cities of Severodonetsk and Borivske,” said defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
He said the attack had thwarted what he called an Ukrainian attempt to turn the city’s Azot chemical plant into a stubborn centre of resistance.
Konashenkov said LPR fighters now controlled the plant, where several hundred citizens had been sheltering. He made no mention of their fate.
18:28
Russia has pushed back against claims that it is stopping grain export from Ukrainian ports.
In a statement on Saturday, Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, “Russia has never prevented grain export from Ukraine’s ports.”She went on to add, “Safe navigation in Ukrainian territorial waters and the use of ports are currently impossible because of the high threat of mines and shelling. This threat was created by Kyiv.”
18:02
- Russian forces have fully occupied Sievierodonetsk, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city said, confirming Ukraine’s biggest battlefield setback for more than a month, after weeks of some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Pro-Russian separatists said Moscow’s forces were now attacking the last major Ukrainian-held bastion in eastern Luhansk province, Sievierodonetsk’s twin city Lysychansk on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets river. The Ukrainian military said its troops had withdrawn from the strategic frontline city of Sievierodonetsk.
- Ukraine is regrouping its forces from the rubble of the city of Sievierodonetsk to higher ground in neighbouring Lysychansk to gain a tactical advantage over Russia, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said. Kyrylo Budanov told Reuters that Ukrainian forces would continue their defence of that front from Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine and that it was no longer possible to hold the line in Sievierodonetsk.
- Ukraine stands with Moldova amid threats from Moscow, the country’s foreign minister has said. “We stand with the people and the government of friendly Moldova amid renewed threats coming from Moscow. All Russia has left is spitting out threats at other states after decades of failed policies based on aggression, coercion, and disrespect. This only shows Russia’s weakness,” Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.