LUGANSK REGION, UKRAINE – JUNE 15, 2022: A view of an apartment building damaged by shelling in the embattled city of Severodonetsk. For the time being, constant shellfire from Ukrainian troops makes it difficult to evacuate people from the Azot chemical plant. With tension escalating in Donbass in February, the Russian Armed Forces launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to appeals for help from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Alexander Reka/TASS/Sipa USA
Ukraine: Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A regional governor in eastern Ukraine says that the country’s troops will retreat from a besieged city to avoid encirclement. The city of Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of the Luhansk region, has faced relentless Russian bombardment. Ukrainian troops fought the Russians in house-to-house battles before retreating to a huge chemical factory on the city’s edge, where they holed up in its sprawling underground structures. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said that the Ukrainian troops have now been given the order to leave Sievierodonetsk. Haidai said the Ukrainian forces have “received the order to retreat to new positions and continue fighting there” but didn’t give further details.
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