War in Ukraine: Russia is fighting house-to-house in the east and Kiev is already preparing for a new attack

With the order of Vladimir Putin a get all the donbasthe rich industrial region of eastern Ukraine, by 1 July, Russian forces continue to advance relentlessly in the area, where fighting is underway in the strategic city of Severodonetsk House by house. Moscow’s advance prompted the military administration in Kiev to build a first line of defense around the capital.

They fear a new attack by the Russians on the Ukrainian capital, the UNIAN agency reported, if Russia finally takes control of Donbas.

Ukrainian intelligence sources told the same agency that Putin gave the order to occupy the entire Donbas region, which includes the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, by 1 July.

After taking Mariupol in the south, Russia accelerated, with setbacks, its offensive in the east of the country, severely punishing the Ukrainian troops who still resist.

If Severodonetsk and the nearby city of Lysychansk fall into the hands of Russian troopsthe entire Lugansk region will come under the control of MoscowSeverodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk warned on Ukrainian television on Tuesday.

Severodonetsk split in two

“The first line he divided the city in two halves, but the city is still defending itself, it is still Ukrainian. The fighting continues in the streets, “said the mayor.

For his part, the head of the Lugansk regional military administration, Sergiy Gaidai, admitted this the Russian army advanced deep into the city and also claimed that there street fighting and that the eastern part of the city is controlled by the Russian army.

But Moscow’s troops cannot move freely due to the presence of Ukrainian units, Gaidai added.

“Our situation is extremely difficult. In Severodonetsk, part of the city is controlled by the Russians. A couple of days ago they said they caught her, but that wasn’t the case. There are our boys, the Russians are rejected and cannot move freely, “she said.

Gaidai added that the Russian military is now planning a military operation to clean up the area around Severodonetsk.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has stated that up to 12,000 civilians remain trapped and he needs help in Severodonetsk.

“I am horrified to see how the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, it became the epicenter of another chapter in the brutal war in Ukraine, “said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian body.

“We fear that up to 12,000 civilians will be caught in the crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine and electricity,” he concluded.

Kiev is preparing

“If there is a second assault, we cannot avoid the damage, but we can minimize it. Kiev’s first line of defense will be at a great distance from the city to prevent the use of enemy artillery units,” a spokesman for Kiev said. army of Kiev administration, the capital, which in the first month of the war became a ghost town, with the Russians at its gates.

Russia eventually withdrew, leaving a carnage in the cities surrounding the capital. But the advance in the East suggests that Russia will go to the capital again.

On Monday, the head of the capital’s military administration, Mykola Zhirnov, said there were no signs of troop deployment north of the Russian border for a new offensive on Kiev, but warned that the threat remains

“Fortifications are being built an area is being prepared for mine removal, troops are being trained on the basis of accumulated experience, “Zhirnov said.

Agencies