Ukraine has confirmed pulling troops from Siversk city in eastern Luhansk region after weeks of intense fighting and amidst Russia’s superiority in terms of manpower.
In a statement published on Tuesday, the General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces said Russian army has a tangible advantage in manpower and equipment and, despite significant losses, continue active offensive operations. “In order to save the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of units, Ukrainian defenders withdrew from the settlement. During the battles for Siversk, the defense forces of Ukraine exhausted the enemy, every meter of the city was given to the enemy at a high price,” the statement posted in the General Staff’s official Telegram channel reads.
Despite this, Siversk remain under fire control of Ukrainian forces, the General Staff stated, adding that The Defense Forces continue to carry out combat missions in the direction of Sloviansk city in Donetsk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the capture of Siversk on December 11, stressing that its seizure would pave the way for further advances of Russian forces. Russia had stepped up efforts to seize Siversk since December 8 when DeepState open source reported that Russian forces had begun advancing into the city. Ukraine’s “Sever” operational command denied reports of Russian control of the city in a statement on December 10. Earlier, Ukrainian military said Russian troops were infiltrating into the city taking advantage of bad weather conditions and raising the Russian flag to crate the impression of the capture of the city.
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