Russian forces have also been making targeted attacks on the city’s Azot chemical plant, where 500 civilians have been sheltering, Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk Province, where Sievierodonetsk is, said on national television on Tuesday. He also confirmed that the last bridge to the city had been destroyed.
The mayor of Sievierodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, said on national television that the situation was “very difficult.”
“Russian troops are trying to storm the city, but the military is holding firm,” he said, adding that despite the lack of bridges, civilian evacuations were still being carried out.
At the same time, Russian forces have shelled the highway that runs between Lysychansk and the city of Bakhmut to the southwest in an attempt to cut Ukrainian supply lines to the front. Ukrainian officials have called that route the “road of life” and have said for more than a week that it has been too dangerous to use.
Natalia Yermak contributed reporting.