President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the battle for Severodonetsk one of the most difficult in the entire war.

"Severodonetsk remains the epicenter of the confrontation in Donbas as a result of this day – the 105th day of a full-scale war," he said in a video message on Wednesday evening.

"Defending our positions, inflicting significant losses on the enemy. This is a very fierce battle, very hard. Probably one of the most difficult in this entire war," he also said.

According to Zelensky, he is "thankful to each and every one who is defending this direction. There are many things, it is there that the fate of our Donbas is now being decided."