Russian forces were confirmed on Tuesday to have entered the long-held Ukrainian stronghold of Seversk in the Donetsk region, marking a significant development in a battle that has stretched on for more than three years. Videos circulating on social media showed Russian units moving into the city from the south and pushing several blocks deep, with Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian formations less than a kilometer from the city center. The footage confirmed what had been rumored for days: the long-static Seversk line is finally collapsing under Russian pressure.
Seversk, located roughly fifteen miles west of the city of Lisichansk, has been a critical part of Ukraine’s defensive network since the summer of 2022. After Russia captured Lisichansk in July of that year, many analysts expected Seversk to fall soon after. Instead, the city held, aided by advantageous terrain that allowed Ukrainian defenders to stall Russia’s push. The situation shifted only when Ukraine’s autumn offensive in Kharkov forced Russian troops to pull back to positions on the outskirts of Lisichansk, freezing the front line for more than a year.
That standoff began to unravel this summer when Russian forces seized the Serebreansk Forest north of Seversk and crossed the Seversky Donets River, placing additional pressure on the Ukrainian lines. On Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the nearby village of Platonivka, a move that severed the T0513 highway—Seversk’s primary supply route. Ukrainian forces inside the city now face the growing risk of encirclement, a scenario military observers warn could force a rapid withdrawal or result in large-scale losses.
Should Seversk fall, it would mark the final collapse of what has been known as the “Zelensky Line,” a defensive chain formed in 2022 consisting of Bakhmut, Soledar, and Seversk. With Bakhmut and Soledar already captured in 2023, Seversk’s potential loss would open the way for Russian forces to push toward Slovyansk and Kramatorsk—the two largest remaining Ukrainian-held cities in the Donbas. Those cities have symbolic significance as well, being the places where the Donbas conflict first erupted in 2014 in the aftermath of the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.