Russians control part of Severodonetsk, plan to 'mop up' surrounding areas — regional governor

Russian troops control part of Severodonetsk, as street fighting continues in the city, said the head of the Luhansk Oblast State Administration Serhiy Hayday. According to him, the occupiers plan to "mop up" the areas around the city.

At the same time, he emphasizes that the Russians have not captured the whole of Severodonetsk: there are Ukrainian soldiers in the city who are repelling the attacks. The occupiers cannot move freely. Intense urban fighting continues.

According to Hayday, the occupiers are planning a military operation to clear the areas around Severodonetsk.

"A battalion of soldiers is being deployed there, which will pass through the surrounding villages such as Borivske and Syrotyne. They are pulling up equipment, such as Solntsepek, to burn our military together with civilians," the regional governor said.

Hayday believes Ukrainian troops are not at risk of encirclement in Severodonetsk as they have the opportunity to retreat. However, the Russians are gradually moving towards the city center.

Russian troops continue shelling the entire government-controlled part of the Luhansk Oblast, but they have not succeeded in the direction of Zolote, Toshkivka or Lysychansk. The Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway is also under constant fire.

On May 30, two people died in Luhansk Oblast: a French journalist and a civilian man in Lysychansk. Four more people were injured.

The occupiers are indiscriminately destroying civilian infrastructure: 12 more houses were damaged in Severodonetsk, 12 houses and an eating establishment in Lysychansk, nine houses and a kindergarten in Hirske, six houses in Toshkivka, and a total of six more in Nyrkove, Viktorivka and Mykolayivka.

What is happening in Luhansk Oblast?

On May 25, Hayday stated that the Russians had already occupied 95% of Luhansk Oblast. There are currently more than 40,000 people in the territory of the region controlled by Ukraine, 99% of whom do not want to leave.

Lysychansk is under the control of Ukraine. The Lysychansk-Bakhmut route is not blocked, but is constantly under fire, so it is dangerous to use it. On May 30, the evacuation of people was stopped.

The Institute for the Study of War predicted that the capture of Severodonetsk could lead to a complete occupation of the region. To attack the area, the Russians redeployed their units from Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts.