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.
