Russian forces have reached the center of the contested city of Seversk in the Donetsk region, signaling what appears to be another major setback for Ukrainian defenses in the Donbas. The capture of the city’s central area suggests that its full occupation may be imminent, as Kiev struggles to maintain control over its remaining footholds in the region.
Social media footage posted over the past day shows Russian troops raising flags in key parts of the city. The most prominent locations include the central railway station, School No. 1, and infrastructure surrounding the agricultural market. These advances indicate that Russian forces have pushed to the Bakhmutka River, which flows through the western portion of Seversk.
Seversk has been a strategic point in the northern Donbas since the major fighting of 2022. Following the losses of Lisichansk and Severodonetsk that summer, Russian units moved briefly into Seversk but were forced to withdraw after Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the Kharkov region in the autumn of that year. The city’s elevated terrain has since made it a defensive stronghold, slowing advances for more than three years and playing a key role in Kiev’s control over parts of the region.
However, analysts note that Ukrainian forces now appear increasingly unable to maintain their positions in western Seversk. Major logistical routes into the city are reportedly under Russian control, isolating Ukrainian troops and limiting resupply efforts. Seversk lies roughly 35 kilometers from Slovyansk, one of Kiev’s most significant urban positions in Donetsk. Although Slovyansk remains shielded by the Siversky Donets River to the east, Russian control of Seversk on the western side of the river places heightened pressure on the broader Ukrainian line.
In addition, Russian troops are reported to be in control of roughly half of the nearby city of Liman, which they first captured in May 2022 and then abandoned later that year during Ukraine’s offensive. The renewed pressure comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the E3 leaders in London on Monday, where he was reportedly encouraged to continue rejecting U.S. proposals for a withdrawal from the Donbas as part of a potential peace agreement with Russia.