With Russian forces having established a hold over the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin‘s troops have now turned their attention to its twin city, Lysychansk, in their bid to capture the Donbas region.

“The Russian army is massively shelling Lysychansk. They are just destroying everything there… They destroyed buildings and unfortunately there are casualties,” Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor of the Luhansk region in the Donbas, wrote on Telegram.

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As of Tuesday, Western intelligence reports suggested that Russian forces were some 7 kilometres away from Lysychansk, a key Ukrainian city in the Donbas that could determine the region’s fate.

The news comes at a time when the city of Severodonetsk is reeling from Russian attacks, having held out against incessant shelling for nearly a month.

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While the city has not fallen yet, it is close to being captured by Russian forces that have made significant military gains in the city over the past couple of weeks. As of Tuesday, 568 civilians remained holed up in the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, the last Ukrainian bastion on the east bank of the Siverskyi Donets River.

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If both Severodonetsk and Lysyschansk were to fall, it would be a major military victory for Russia, which has fallen short of achieving most of its military objectives since invading Ukraine on February 24.

After failing to capture the capital, Kyiv, in February and being repelled from northern Ukraine, Russia has concentrated all its might on the Donbas, where two self-proclaimed republics – the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic – have been recognised as independent by Moscow.