Zelensky: Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are 'dead cities'

Smoke rises from Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine, during a battle.
(Image credit: Aris Messinnis/AFP via Getty Images)

Weeks of intense fighting have taken a devastating toll on the eastern Ukrainian cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

They are both "dead cities," Zelensky declared. Ukrainian forces are outnumbered by Russian troops in Sievierodonetsk, where battles are taking place from street to street amid heavy shelling. Russia is aiming to capture Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk so it can have control over the entire Luhansk region.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.