In recent weeks, the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk has become a focal point of Russia’s war in Ukraine. There is still fierce fighting there as Ukrainian troops try to keep Russia from capturing the entire city.
Russian artillery shelled Severodonetsk, causing extensive damage in a scorched-earth attack to the east that is causing massive casualties among Ukrainian forces. On Monday, Russian troops entered the city center and were fighting Ukrainian soldiers on the streets.
Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk, stated earlier this week that up to 70% of Severodonetsk is in Russian hands.
In recent weeks, the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk has become a focal point of Russia’s war in Ukraine. There is still fierce fighting there as Ukrainian troops try to keep Russia from capturing the entire city.
Russian artillery shelled Severodonetsk, causing extensive damage in a scorched-earth attack to the east that is causing massive casualties among Ukrainian forces. On Monday, Russian troops entered the city center and were fighting Ukrainian soldiers on the streets.
Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk, stated earlier this week that up to 70% of Severodonetsk is in Russian hands.
The city is key to Moscow’s goal of conquering the Donbass, an area that includes eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions (oblasts). Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that Russia has concentrated its forces around Severodonetsk. The Russian forces are likely to take control of Luhansk in the next two weeks, the ministry said, but at a heavy cost.
Here’s what you should know about the strategic city.
After failing to take Kyiv in a full-scale attack by Ukraine in the first weeks of the war, Moscow turned its focus east in April—specifically to conquering the Donbass. Severodonetsk, sometimes spelled Sievierodonetsk, is located in Luhansk near the Donetsk border, about 90 miles south of the Russian border. It is located near the Donets River, which crosses eastern Ukraine.
The struggle for Severodonetsk is a continuation of the struggle that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Since then, the region has been divided into areas controlled by the Kiev government and Russian-backed separatists, with protracted fighting along the “line of contact” for the past eight years. After separatists captured the city of Luhansk, which was the administrative capital of Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine made Severodonetsk the administrative capital.
The city had about 100,000 inhabitants before the war. The Donbass region is known as the industrial center of Ukraine, and Severodonetsk is home to several factories, as well as the Azot chemical plant, one of the largest producers of nitrogen fertilizers in the country. Before the war, the fertilizers produced there were exported all over the world.
Why is it strategically important?
Russian troops have pushed beyond the contact line in recent months to capture most of Luhansk. Severodonetsk is one of the last cities standing in the way of Russian control of the region. The city offers many strategic advantages, including its location on the Donets River.
It’s also one of the three cities Russia needs to achieve victory in Donbass, Michael Kofman, director of the Russia studies program at Virginia-based CNA, told The Washington Post last month. There, Russia is trying to cut off the Ukrainian troops from their supply lines to the west.
Taking Severodonetsk would help Russia attack the neighboring city of Lysychansk and gain full control of the Luhansk region. From there, they could move southwest to Donetsk.
But the Donets River continues to serve as an obstacle to the advance of Russian troops to Lysyhansk, which is across the river, and to Donetsk. Haidai, the governor of Lugansk, said Saturday that Russian forces were blowing up bridges to prevent Ukraine from bringing reinforcements or aid.
Meanwhile, problems with combat effectiveness and morale have contributed to Russia’s gradual progress in neighboring Donetsk, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Why is Russia fighting in eastern Ukraine? On maps
For Ukraine, sticking to Severodonetsk would prevent the Kremlin from winning a major victory in a war that has otherwise dragged on longer than expected and has cost Moscow significantly.
Haidai told local media on Friday that Ukrainian forces managed to regain control of about 20 percent of the city. But Ukraine is likely to pull out of the city to reinforce its troops elsewhere rather than put up a desperate last stand like its forces did at Mariupol, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that some Ukrainian units are withdrawing from Severodonetsk, France 24 reported.
What symbolic meaning does the city have?
Severodonetsk has previously been a flash point between Ukraine and Russia; the city was briefly taken by Russian-backed separatists in 2014.
For Russia, taking the city after significant setbacks would mean a much-needed symbolic victory. It would allow the Kremlin to declare progress towards its goal of “liberating” Donbass, a region where a significant part of the population speaks Russian as a first language.
Putin has referred to Russians and Ukrainians as “one people” and has sought to undermine the idea of Ukrainian nationality. He sees Donbass-and Ukraine in general-as part of “Russky Mir” or “Russian World” and has claimed he intends to “defend” the Russian-speaking people in the east.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent before invading Ukraine in February. The United States said last month that Moscow was preparing to annex the regions, along with the southern city of Kherson.
When Luhansk falls to the Russians, civilians try desperately to evacuate.
But in areas of the Donbass that Kyiv controlled before the February invasion, a majority of the population wanted the separatist areas returned to Ukraine. The war has also prompted many Russian speakers in Ukraine to abandon the language to resist Russian aggression.
And a Russian victory over Severodonetsk would likely be Pyrrhic: the population has largely deserted the city, and some 13,000 civilians are still seeking refuge in the city. Oleksandr Stryuk, the Ukrainian mayor, said the fighting has destroyed all critical infrastructure-and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that 90 percent of homes in Severodonetsk were damaged. Russia will become a ruined city where the stench of corpses fills the summer air.