Russia builds up military contingent in occupied Sievierodonetsk

Russia is building up its military contingent and is training those mobilized in the temporarily occupied Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region.

"About 7,000-8,000 residents remain in the city. Currently, according to the information received, the contingent of occupiers is slightly increasing in the city. The training of the mobilized is being conducted," Oleksandr Striuk, Head of the Sievierodonetsk City Military-Civilian Administration, said during the nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to him, social institutions and even hospitals are used to accommodate the military.

The official noted that the locals were barely surviving as "humanitarian aid" from the invaders came in limited quantities.

"People survive thanks to surrounding villages. In fact, it is a natural exchange: food products for things... Healthcare is at a primitive level, like other aspects of life. It is impossible to launch the centralized heating season in the city, no matter what the occupation authorities declare," Striuk said.

He noted that people seek shelter for the winter in the surrounding villages and garden cooperatives, where it is possible to use solid fuel for heating.

At the same time, there are few ways to leave the city. "You can return to Ukraine via the ‘big circle’ – through Russia and the Baltic states. It is very dangerous to travel through Zaporizhzhia region, people get stuck there for several weeks," the official said.

As reported, the invaders are trying to convince the local population that they will be able to provide an "uninterrupted and timely heating supply" in the temporarily captured territories of Luhansk region.

ol