Battle for Donbas: British intelligence says russia must’ve occupied more than half of Sievierodonetsk

British intelligence stated that russia had occupied most of Sievierodonetsk, the Luhansk region.

Rubryka reports, citing an intelligence review by the British Ministry of Defense.

The agency notes that outside Donbas, russia continues to launch long-range missile strikes on infrastructure throughout Ukraine.

In particular, the review mentions a strategically important bridge connecting Ukraine with Romania and Ukrainian ports on the Danube.

After all, they became critical for Ukrainian exports after the blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports by russia.

The British intelligence noted that russia's ground operations remained very focused, and russia concentrated the main firepower in a small sector of the Luhansk region.

"Over May 30-31, fighting intensified on the streets of Sievierodonetsk, with russian forces pushing closer to the town center. Over half of the town is likely now occupied by russian forces, including Chechen fighters," the report said.

Earlier, British intelligence reported that it believes that russia's political goal is to occupy the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions but to achieve this, they need to capture Kramatorsk and the Dnieper-Donetsk route in addition to Sievierodonetsk.

As Rubryka previously reported, the russians have performed poorly in operations in the city, so they're unlikely to be able to move quickly through Sievierodonetsk.

The Institute for the Study of War believes, the russians continue to increase their position around the city but haven't surrounded it. russian forces are likely to continue a gradual offensive and may surround Sievierodonetsk in the coming days.

However, researchers say the Ukrainian Armed Forces slowed down the progress of the russians.