Pro-Russia Militiamen Blast Gutted Buildings in Besieged Ukrainian City

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Video purports to show pro-Russia militiamen firing shells at already devastated buildings allegedly occupied by Ukrainian soldiers in besieged Sievierodonetsk.

Zenger News obtained the footage from the People's Militia of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) earlier Friday.

The video shows soldiers in a rural area loading shells into an artillery system, which they proceed to fire.

The clip intersperses these shots with images of already heavily-damaged buildings in an urban area being blasted.

Sievierodonetsk Ukraine
Artillerymen of the People's Liberation Army of Luhansk reportedly destroyed the APU base in Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine, in May 2022. People's Militia of LPR/Zenger

The militia said (in Russian): "Artillerymen of the NM LPR destroyed the stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Severodonetsk."

Severodonetsk is the transliterated spelling of the Russian name for the embattled city of Sievierodonetsk, which LPR forces are fighting fiercely to gain control of.

Heavy fighting is currently going on on the outskirts of the city, which is under almost continuous shelling as pro-Russia troops try to capture it.

The mayor of Sievierodonetsk said 60 percent of housing in the city had been destroyed and up to 90 percent of buildings damaged.

Elsewhere, pro-Russia forces have gained control of city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, according to Ukrainian officials, following what they called a well-organized attack.

Ten have been killed and up to 35 wounded following Russian missile strikes on a Ukrainian military base in Dnipro Raion in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Sievierodonetsk Ukraine hit by Russian shells
Artillerymen of the People's Liberation Army of Luhansk reportedly destroyed the APU base in Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine, in May 2022.

In related news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday night that lives are lost in Ukraine every moment the West delays putting more pressure on Russia.

His foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine would not be able to counter the Russian offensive without more heavy weapons.

U.S. officials said the Biden administration is considering supplying Ukraine with the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

Officials are claiming that Russian forces have scattered up to 500 Soviet-era mines in the Black Sea, making it impossible for Ukraine to export goods from its ports.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported earlier Friday that from 24th February to 27th May, Russia had lost about 29,750 troops in addition to 1,322 tanks, 3,246 armored fighting vehicles, 623 artillery systems, 201 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 air defense systems, 206 warplanes, 170 helicopters, 503 unmanned aerial vehicles, 115 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,226 military vehicles and fuel tankers, and 48 units of special equipment.

While the Russian MoD reported earlier Friday that over the same period, Ukraine had lost 179 warplanes, 127 helicopters, 1,019 unmanned aerial vehicles, 323 air defense systems, 3,266 tanks and armored fighting vehicles, 433 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,682 artillery systems, and 3,190 military vehicles.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what Russian President Vladimir Putin initially called a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.

The Kremlin is still calling it a "special military operation" but now says the goal is to "protect Donbass." Friday marks the 93rd day of the invasion.

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.

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