Britain’s Ministry of Defence made the assessment in its latest intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, published on Thursday.
Severodonetsk is the biggest remaining Ukrainian-held city in the eastern Luhansk Oblast. It has seen intense fighting in recent days, as Russia continues its offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
The role of Izyum
According to UK analysts, Russia is seeking to regain momentum near the city of Izyum in the northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, "to put further pressure" on embattled Severodonetsk.
Izyum is significant because it sits on a key road into the Donbas, they added.
Gaining momentum there would give Russia "the option of advancing deeper into the Donetsk Oblast [in the Donbas]," the UK Ministry of Defence noted.
The importance of Severodonetsk
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said about the battle for Severodonetsk: “This is a very fierce battle, very difficult… I am grateful to everyone who defends this direction. In many respects, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there.”
His words came in an address to the nation on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, said that his country’s forces could “clean up Severodonetsk in two or three days” with western long-range armaments.
Thursday is day 106 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: euronews.com, bbc.com