Severodonetsk in Ukraine's Luhansk region 'fully occupied' by Russian troops, says mayor

Kyiv: Severodonetsk, the key industrial city in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, was fully occupied by Russia on Saturday. The development was confirmed by Severodonetsk's mayor Oleksandr Striuk.

On Friday, Ukraine said that it withdrew its troops from the city to prevent encirclement by Russian soldiers and to defend the neighbouring city of Lysychansk. Before the start of the war, there were around 100,000 people living in the city.

However, recently reports surfaced that almost 10,000 people were left in Severodonetsk. People are also reportedly evacuating the Azot chemical plant. Notably, hundreds of people have taken shelter inside the chemical plant.

"These people have spent almost three months of their lives in basements, shelters. That's tough emotionally and physically," reported news agency AFP quoting Striuk as saying. He further added that these people would need psychological and medical support.

As per the AFP report, more than 800 people were evacuated from the chemical plant after Russian and pro-Russian forces had taken control of it. The twin cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk are divided by the Donets river.

Russia will now be aiming to take Lysychansk to take full control of the Luhansk region in Donbas It will allow Russian troops to consolidate their position further into Donbas. Russia started its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. It shifted its focus to the eastern part of the neighbouring country after Ukrainian troops stalled its aggression in Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.