By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian forces are holding just 20% of the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk but there is still hope that they can prevent Russia taking full control, the head of the city administration told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Russian forces entered the eastern Ukrainian city, the largest still held by Kyiv in the Luhansk region, late last week after weeks of shelling.
Russian forces now control 60% of the city, while the rest has become “no-man’s land”, said Oleksandr Stryuk, the Ukrainian head of the city administration, who declined to give his location.
“The 20% is being fiercely defended by our armed forces,” Stryuk said. “Our troops are holding defensive lines. Attempts are being made to drive out the Russian troops.”
“We have hope that despite everything we will free the city and not allow it to be completely occupied,” he said.
Stryuk said that 12-13,000 people remain in the city and that it was impossible to get food or aid in or to get people out.
He said the city administration had no information on how many people have died in the city in recent days.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Toby Chopra and Frank Jack Daniel)
