Russian-occupied city in eastern Ukraine paints bleak picture

The city's exiled mayor painted a bleak picture of life for those who remain there, in a pocket of the east where Russian forces have focused their attention in recent weeks after Ukrainian officials confirmed that their forces had retreated from the devastated industrial city of Sievierodonetsk. The mayor, Oleksandr Striuk, described a Russian-occupied city battered by artillery fire and in places leveled by artillery fire, there is no good news I can share with you. Some 7,000 to 8,000 civilians, out of a prewar population of 160,000, were still in the city when it fell to Russian forces on Friday, based on information from sources still inside, said Striuk. Their humanitarian situation is dire, with infrastructure razed and clean water and food in short supply.

The Ukrainian officials said that 90 percent of the city's buildings have been destroyed. Ukrainian forces have withdrawn to the west toward Lysychansk, the twin city on the opposite bank of the Siversky Donets River. With no bridges still standing, they had to use whatever materials they could find in Sievierodonetsk to retreat, Mr. Striuk said.

He and other local officials were forced to flee elsewhere in Ukraine when the situation deteriorated. Those who are left will likely be allowed to evacuate only to Russian-held cities, as has been the case in other captured areas. The mayor acknowledged that there was a symbolic importance attached to Sievierodonetsk and that it had become a regional administrative hub in the province of Luhansk after pro-Russian separatists seized part of the region in 2014. He said Russian forces were now likely to focus their efforts on Lysychansk, the last city in Luhansk to remain in Ukrainian hands. After abandoning their thwarted push to take Kyiv early in the war, Russian forces have been trying to claim full control of Donbas, the eastern region containing the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, where their separatist allies already held territory.

Because of the real threat to life and health, we need an evacuation immediately, he said in a post on the social messaging app Telegram. Take care of the children. Be sure to be taken care of in the evacuation cities on the territory of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military's general staff said on Monday that Russian forces were trying to blockade Lysychansk from the south, with the support of artillery, and shelling civilian and military infrastructure in the area. The Russian assault on the east has not slowed after the Ukrainian withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk. Russian troops launched 20 strikes on 12 settlements in Donetsk province from Sunday to Monday, with civilian casualties recorded, according to a Telegram post from the Ukrainian National Police. Much of Ukraine, including areas of the west and north that had escaped the worst of the fighting in recent weeks, remained on the edge on Monday after tensions were raised by a sudden escalation in strikes on Kyiv and other areas over the weekend. Dozens of rockets were fired from Belarusian airspace toward Kyiv and the surrounding region, and at least one person was killed in the city.