Sievierodonetsk mayor says Russian forces seize half of city

By YURAS KARMANAU and ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press

SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces in a “frenzied push” have seized half of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, which is key to Moscow’s efforts to quickly complete the capture of the industrial Donbas region. The city’s mayor also told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Sievierodonetsk  “is essentially being destroyed ruthlessly block by block.” He says heavy street fighting continues and artillery bombardments threaten the lives of the estimated 13,000 civilians still sheltering in the ruined city that once was home to more than 100,000. He says it’s impossible to track civilian casualties amid the round-the-clock shelling.