Ukraine forces to retreat from Severodonetsk —governor

KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's forces will have to retreat from Severodonetsk, a regional governor said Friday, after weeks of fierce fighting against Russian forces in the battleground eastern city.

"Ukrainian armed forces will have to retreat from Severodonetsk. They have received an order to do so," Sergiy Gaiday, governor of the Lugansk region which includes the city, said on Telegram.

"Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense."

The city has been "nearly turned to rubble" by continual bombardment, he said.

"All critical infrastructure has been destroyed. Ninety percent of the city is damaged, 80 percent (of) houses will have to be demolished," he said.

Capturing Severodonetsk in the Donbas area has been a key goal of the Russians as they seek to seize a swathe of eastern Ukraine.

Gaiday said that Russian forces had also pushed deeper towards a key transit artery in Donbas, capturing a nearby village and consolidating gains as Kyiv's troops were to withdraw from Severodonetsk.

"Mykolayivka is lost," Gaiday said in comments posted on Telegram, referring to a village with an estimated pre-war population of around 2,000 people, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) south of Severodonetsk's sister city Lysychansk.

It is just the latest in a series of creeping Russian gains south of the twin cities, as Moscow's army looks to encircle them. —Agence France-Presse