This is the way the war looks set to play out.
Village by village, town by town, Russian forces bombard, encircle, then overwhelm with sheer force of numbers.
The governor of the Luhansk region said the Russians were approaching their positions from all sides.
Sergei Haidai wrote on social media that the shelling was “increasing more and more. The Russian army has decided to completely destroy Severodonetsk.”
Encircling that city – the last Ukrainian holdout on the east bank of a crucial river – seems to be the current strategy.
But in the way of Russian troops remain some of the most determined and battle-hardened forces in the Ukrainian army.
The supply lines to Severodonetsk remain open, but only just.
It may only be a matter of time before the city’s defenders are cut off – with no way out for the soldiers, or the civilians who remain trapped with them.
BBC