Leonid Pasechnik, the commander of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR); says the Russian assault to retake Severodonetsk is “not proceeding as fast as we would like.”

According to the Russian news agency TASS; Pasechnik stated that the “liberation of the city is difficult by the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s defence in depth.”

According to him, Russian and LPR forces now control one-third of the city.

“First and foremost, we want to save as much of the city’s infrastructure as possible;” Pasechnik stated, despite the fact that much of the damage has been caused by Russian bombardment of Severodonetsk.

The Ukrainian side’s goals are “opposite,” according to Pasechnik; therefore “their methods of hiding behind the civilian population has been actively deployed in Severodonetsk since the commencement of the military action.”

Heavy fighting is reported on both sides in the city, with some Ukrainian officials admitting that part of it is under Russian control.