“Defense forces of Ukraine maintain control over Siversk in the Slavyansk direction, despite the statement of the Russian command about its occupation and the active attempts of the enemy to advance deep into the city, OK “Shid” reports in the evening report on December 11”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“The enemy is trying to infiltrate Siversk in small groups, using unfavorable weather conditions, but most of these units are destroyed on the approaches. Anti-sabotage measures of the Defense Forces of Ukraine are ongoing,” the message states.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, announced the occupation of Siversk by Russian troops at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 11.
The commander of the Southern group of Russian troops Serhii Medvedev claims that taking control of Siversk created conditions for the development of an offensive in the direction of Sloviansk. Together with Kramatorsk, these are the two largest cities of Donbas that remain under the control of Ukraine.
Siversk is a city north of Bakhmut, in the northeast of Donetsk region. Before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, its population was about 12 thousand people. Fighting on its outskirts has actually been going on since March 2022. For many months, the front line there was practically unchanged, including Russian pro-war bloggers criticizing the command for heavy losses and reports of successes that did not occur.
In recent weeks, both Russian and Ukrainian sources, in particular the DeepState project, have reported on the advance of the Russian military and the beginning of street fighting in the city. According to the DeepState map, part of Siversk is not controlled by the Russian army.