Ukraine’s grip on a key eastern city appears to slip further.

Russian forces have pushed Ukrainian troops from the center of Sievierodonetsk, the Ukrainian military said on Monday, as Ukraine’s grip on the strategic eastern city appeared to weaken further.

The Ukrainian military said that fighting was ongoing in the city. President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the battle decisive for the fate of his country’s eastern Donbas region. Allies have warned that Sievierodonetsk could fall to Russia within weeks or days.

In an update on Monday, the regional governor, Serhiy Haidai, said that Russian forces were heavily shelling an industrial zone that includes a chemical plant where about 500 civilians, including 40 children, were sheltering. Efforts were underway to evacuate the civilians, he added.

In an evening speech on Sunday, Mr. Zelensky said Sievierodonetsk was the site of “very fierce fighting — literally for every meter.” Read more

@nytimes