Invaders mine all outskirts of Siverodonetsk, preparing for defense

In the temporarily captured Siverodonetsk, Luhansk region, the number of Russian troops preparing for the Ukrainian offensive has increased significantly, with the biggest threat to the Ukrainian military being the total mining of the surrounding areas.

That’s according to Oleksandr Striuk, who chairs the Siverodonetsk City Military and Civilian Administration, who spoke on the air of Kyiv TV, Ukrinform reports.

"Preparations for defenses are and will probably pose quite serious problems for our military, as everything around is being mined, defense lines are being built, some structures are being erected – it's hard to say whether it’s being done professionally, but some efforts are being made. The biggest threat is the mining of all the outskirts," said Striuk.

He noted that the invaders who had arrived in the city settled in the abandoned apartments, so another wave of looting has begun.

"Now there is a new wave of occupation of more or less surviving apartments of local residents. It is being done under a ‘good’ pretext of housing people, even though the population is actually being looted," said the head of the administration.

According to Striuk, some employees who had previously joined the occupation "administration" in town recently chose to quit their jobs.

As reported earlier, Ukrainian troops withdrew Siverodonetsk in an organized manner on June 24, when there were practically no locations left in the urban area it that could be used for defense – the enemy destroyed up to 80% of residential buildings and 90% of the infrastructure. Since then, despite all promises, the invaders have not been able to re-establish water, gas, or heating utility networks.

Photo: Serhiy Haidai on Telegram