Ukraine says it will withdraw from the city of Sievierodonetsk.

After weeks of bloody street-by-street fighting and months of Russian bombardment, Ukrainian forces fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk will retreat from the city, the local governor said on Friday.

Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region’s military administration, said that it “does not make sense” to hold on to what he described as broken positions in the city any longer.

“The number of people killed will increase every day,” he said. “It was decided that our defenders would retreat to new positions, fortified areas, and from there conduct hostilities and inflict damage on the enemy.”

The fall of the city on the east bank of the Siversky Donets River meant that Russia could fully concentrate its forces on taking its twin city on the west bank of the river, Lysychansk, the last pocket of land in Luhansk Province under the control of the Ukrainian government. Read more

@nytimes