Evacuation from Sievierodonetsk has been suspended due to shelling

DENYS KARLOVSKYI — THURSDAY, 12 MAY 2022, 16:31

The evacuation of civilians from Sievierodonetsk has been suspended because shelling by the Russian occupiers continues.

Source: Head of the Sievierodonetsk Military-Civil Administration, Oleksandr Striuk, on air during the national 24/7 newscast

Quote from Striuk: "The evacuation has been suspended because it is impossible to drive on a road that is constantly under fire. As soon as the situation stabilises, the evacuation will be resumed."

Details: According to Striuk, up to 15,000 people remain in the city.

Striuk suggested that it is possible to stabilise the situation on the evacuation route within one or two days.

Due to the shelling of the road, the military administration is unable to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of the city. So far, military and civil administration officials have received 20 requests from residents for evacuation.

The head of the Sievierodonetsk Military-Civil Administration said that due to the shelling of the gas pipeline by the occupiers, the city still has no gas supply and no electricity. Due to the lack of electricity, the water networks are not supplying water to houses.

He explained that due to shelling by the Russians, municipal services could not repair the damaged infrastructure.

Background: 

• The Head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, Serhii Haidai, said that there is no water supply or electricity across the whole region. He added that critical infrastructure will have to be rebuilt from scratch.
• On 11 May, the occupiers fired on Sievierodonetsk 9 times, damaging at least seven houses.
• According to Striuk, as of 11 May, one third of the houses in the city are uninhabitable.
• The Russian military is trying to seize control of the Bakhmut-Lysychansk motorway in order to "cut off" the controlled territories of the Luhansk region by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the rest of Ukraine.