Russian forces have blown up a bridge connecting the Ukrainian city of Severodontsk with another city across the river, cutting off possible evacuations of civilians.
According to British media, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in his video address of the night that “the strategic goal of the Russian occupiers has not changed. They are putting pressure on Severodonsk, there is a fierce battle going on. “
Zelensky said the image of a 12-year-old boy injured in a Russian attack had now become Russia’s “permanent face” around the world. He said that these facts would indicate how the world views Russia.
He quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying last week that “Peter was not great, not even Leo Tolstoy, but children (great) who were wounded and killed in Russian attacks.”
President Putin compared Moscow’s military campaign to Russian Emperor Peter the Great’s conquest of Swedish territory in the 18th century.
The governor of Luhansk province, Sergei Gaidai, said on Sunday that Ukrainian and Russian forces were fighting in the streets of Severodonsk.
Russian forces have taken control of most of the city, but Ukrainian troops occupy an industrial area and an Azot chemical plant where hundreds of civilians have taken refuge.
“There are about 500 civilians on the land of the Azot plant in Severodontsk, including 40 children,” Gidai said.
He said the Russians had destroyed a bridge over the Sverdlovsk River that connected Sverdlovsk to its twin city. Now only one of the three bridges remains.
“If the bridge collapses after the new shelling, the city will be cut off,” said Sergei Gidai, the governor of Luhansk province.