Ukraine Stages Successful Counterattack in Sievierodonetsk

Ukraine has recaptured approximately a fifth of the city of Sievierodonetsk, previously lost to Russian forces, following a successful counterattack.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk, said that Russian forces had previously captured the majority of the city but that Ukrainian troops had managed to cancel out a number of those gains. “They are really suffering huge losses,” he said in a tweet.

Russian military leaders have focused their attention on the city over the past fortnight and it has come under almost constant bombardment as Moscow aims to complete the capture of the Luhansk oblast. Prior to the successful counterattack it was believed that the city would remain under Russian control for the foreseeable future, but reports now coming in from the front line suggest that Ukrainian forces may have clawed back as much as 30% of the territory lost and are advancing at a rate of 500 meters to one kilometer per day.

Reports coming out of the city appear to show a number of foreign citizens fighting alongside Ukrainian troops. A video widely circulated on social media shows a masked soldier claiming to be from Australia, saying he was fighting alongside volunteers from Georgia, France and Brazil in Sievierodonetsk as well as his fellow countrymen.

Whilst the east of Ukraine has become the main front for Russia’s military offensive, attacks on targets in other parts of the country still take place intermittently. Early this morning Kyiv was rocked by explosions for the first time in weeks.