Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that the human cost of the battle of Severodonetsk, a strategic city in the east of the country, is “terrifying” and will be remembered as one of the most violent ever in Europe.
“The human cost of this battle for us is very high. It is simply terrifying,” Zelensky said in his daily speech to Ukrainians, broadcast on the Telegram platform.
The Ukrainian head of state, quoted by the Efe news agency, added that “the battle in Donbass will certainly go down in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe”.
“We are dealing with absolute evil,” he said, explaining that “there is no other choice but to move forward and liberate” his country, including the Russian-occupied regions in the south and east, which face a “civilizational blockade” as that the Russians are “blocking all communications” to the outside world.
In the communication, Zelensky put the level of losses at 100 soldiers and 500 wounded a day in the fighting with the Russian army, which tries to control Severodonetsk, still without success.
Zelensky also once again appealed to the West to provide “more weapons” to the Ukrainian army, as Moscow troops control most of Severodonetsk and continue to crush Ukrainian artillery.
Earlier in the evening, the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergei Gaidai, said that “70-80% of the city” was occupied by the Russians, adding that “the three bridges (which link Severodonetsk to its neighboring city of Lyssychansk) have been destroyed.” .
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine, which was condemned by a large part of the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia.