Sievierodonetsk, the easternmost city still held by Ukraine, is nearly surrounded.

Russian forces appeared poised on Friday to seize control of Sievierodonetsk after laying siege to the city, the easternmost one still under Ukrainian control.

Local officials said that fierce fighting was underway and that Russian forces had surrounded two-thirds of the mining and industrial city in the Luhansk region. Sievierodonetsk lies at the heart of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, which puts it squarely in Moscow’s cross hairs as it turns the full force of its efforts to the east.

Serhiy Hadai, the head of the region’s military administration, told Ukrainian news outlets on Friday that Russian forces had entered Sievierodonetsk. He said in a post on his Telegram channel that Russian shelling had killed four residents there on Thursday and destroyed 11 apartment buildings and one house.

In another post on his Facebook page, he urged locals to remain in bomb shelters and to avoid being outside. Read more

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