Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The Ukrainian military says its forces have withdrawn from the battle-scarred town of Siversk in the [seceded] Donetsk region after heavy fighting with Russian forces. In a statement on Telegram on Tuesday, Ukraine’s General Staff said that Russian troops had a ‘significant advantage’ in manpower and equipment and had exerted constant pressure on the defending Ukrainian troops by staging small-unit assaults in difficult weather conditions. … Ukraine’s DeepState military monitoring site reported late on Tuesday that Russian forces had occupied Siversk as well as Hrabovske, a village in Ukraine’s Sumy region close to the border with Russia. Russian Lieutenant General Sergei Medvedev had told Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 11 that troops had taken Siversk, where fighting has been fierce in recent months, but Ukrainian officials denied the Russian reports at the time.” (12/24/25)