Zaporizhzhia and Sievierodonetsk

Zaporizhzhia

In News: Russian troops intend to capture Zaporizhzhia, a large city in the country’s (Ukraine) southeast, which would allow the Russian military to advance closer to the centre of the country.

• In the south of Ukraine, Russia has already seized the large Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Mariupol.
• The Zaporizhzhia region, with the population of 1.6 million, is one of the biggest industrial hubs of Ukraine’s southeast.
• The city itself has 722,000 people.

Sievierodonetsk

In News: More than 100 days after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, it is the strategic eastern city of Sievierodonetsk that remains in the focus

• Located nearly 140 km south of the Russian border, Sievierodonetsk is one of the largest cities of the Donbas region.
• It is located near the left bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, and has a population of over a lakh.
• It is a big industrial hub known for chemical works and machine-building factories.

Strategic importance

• Russia aims for complete liberation of Donbas. When Russia talks about ‘liberating’ Donbas, it broadly refers to controlling Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
• If the city of Sievierodonetsk falls, then it will allow Russia to control the entire Luhansk region.

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Consider the following pairs: (2022)

Regions in News                                           Country

1. Anatolia                        –                       Turkey
2. Amhara                         –                       Ethiopia
3. Cabo Delgado              –                       Spain
4. Catalonia                      –                       Italy

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

1. Only one pair
2. Only two pairs
3. Only three pairs
4. All four pairs