Aris Messini Afp | Getty Images Heavy fighting continues in the streets of a critical eastern Ukrainian city now at the center of the Moscow invasion, as Kyiv begged the West to hand over more weapons to hold back Russian forces. In Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that has become the focus of Russia’s advance into eastern Ukraine, there are likely to be many casualties on both sides, according to a June 11 report by the UK Department of Defense. “Intense street-to-street fighting is ongoing and both sides are likely to suffer heavy casualties,” the ministry said on Twitter. “Russia is mobilizing fire with its artillery and air capabilities in an effort to crush the Ukrainian defenses.” However, the ministry said Russian forces had not been able to take control of the south of the city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the battle for Severodonetsk could determine the outcome for eastern Ukraine. He described the fighting in the Donbass region of Ukraine as “probably one of the most difficult in all of this war”. Donbas refers to two provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk, in the eastern part of Ukraine. It is an important strategic, political and economic goal for the Kremlin. “Very fierce fighting continues in Donbas,” Zelensky said in his overnight speech on June 11. “Russia wants to destroy every city in Donbass.” “Ukrainian troops are doing everything they can to stop the invaders from attacking. As much as possible. As much as the heavy weapons, the modern artillery – everything we have asked for and continue to ask our partners – to allow it,” he said. . Ukraine is calling for faster and more arms deliveries from the West, as the war in the east is primarily an artillery battle where the Ukrainians are badly defeated, according to Reuters, citing country officials. “Everything depends on what it gives us (the West). Ukraine has an artillery of up to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces,” Vadim Skimitsky, deputy chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, told Britain’s Guardian newspaper. The country is now pinning its hopes on missile systems that the United States and the United Kingdom have promised to send. The United Kingdom said earlier this week it would send multi-launcher missile systems to Ukraine that could hit targets up to 50 miles away, in coordinated motion with the United States. Washington has said it would supply Ukraine with high-mobility missile systems that can travel more than 43 miles. Russia has attacked Ukrainian defenders with many such missile systems, which have a longer range than artillery shells.
