Mayor Says Half of Sievierodonetsk Captured

(AP) – The mayor of Sievierodonetsk says Russian forces have taken around half of the city in eastern Ukraine. Oleksandr Striuk told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday that heavy fighting is ongoing and artillery bombardments threaten the lives of the thousands of civilians still sheltering in the ruined city.

Striuk said that “half of the city has been captured by the Russians and fierce street fighting is underway.” He said that “the situation is very serious and the city is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block.”

The mayor added that “the Ukrainian military continues to resist this frenzied push and aggression by Russian forces.”