UK MoD says all bridges connecting Severodonetsk to Ukraine-controlled territory destroyed

Russia will have to execute a contested river crossing or advance on its stopped flanks after all of the major bridges over the Siverskyy Donets river, which connects Severodonetsk and Ukrainian-held territory, have likely been destroyed, according to Britain's defence ministry on June 16. According to the UK MoD, Ukraine has likely managed to withdraw a major percentage of its combat forces who were originally stationed in the town.

"Russia’s combat force in the Donbas is highly likely operating in increasingly ad hoc and severely undermanned groupings," it claimed in a Twitter intelligence update.

After being pushed back from the outskirts of Kyiv in May, Russian troops have concentrated their efforts on seizing the entire Donbass. Ukraine defied a Russian ultimatum to hand over the eastern city of Severodonetsk as the US promised more weapons for Kyiv. Despite warnings from Russian officials that military deliveries, US did not give any impression of backing down.

The fighting has centred on Severodonetsk, which is now largely in ruins. As it struggles for control of eastern Ukraine, Russia has instructed Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant there to lay down their arms as of Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, on a coordinated trip to Kiyv on June 16, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived to demonstrate their support for Ukraine as it battles the Russian onslaught.

Germany, US extend additional military aid to Ukraine as it battles Russian onslaught

As Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks full control of the Donbass and a stretch of southern Ukraine, Kyiv is appealing for speedier and more regular armament deliveries. Ukrainian soldiers in the south are fighting to recover terrain in wheat fields and deserted towns northwest of Kherson, a Russian-occupied city on the Black Sea's tributaries. Further, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht announced on June 16 that three multiple rocket launchers offered to Kyiv might be delivered in July or August once Ukrainian forces had been trained on the weaponry. 

Moreover, US President Joe Biden has also pledged $1 billion in new weaponry supply to Ukraine, including anti-ship missile systems, artillery rockets, and howitzer rounds. Biden, who spoke by phone with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, also announced an additional $225 million in humanitarian relief to Ukraine.

Image: AP