Zelensky: 'Difficult' battle for Severodonetsk may determine future of Ukraine

June 9 (UPI) -- Russia said Thursday its forces have regained the upper hand and pushed Ukrainian fighters back to the outskirts of Severodonetsk in the battle for the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.

Russian and Ukrainain troops have been battling for weeks in Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region, as Moscow made capturing the Donbas its top goal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the battle for Severodonetsk is a possible tipping point in the war, as Russian forces strive for gains in the last major city in the Donbas not under full Russian control.

Ukrainian officials said Thursday, however, that Russia still doesn't control all of Severodonetsk.

"Our [troops] now again control only the outskirts of the city," Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said, according to The Guardian. "But the fighting is still going on, our [forces] are defending Severodonetsk. It is impossible to say the Russians completely control the city."

Haidai said long-range weapons from the United States and other Western nations could quickly change the direction of the battle. He said the new equipment could help "clean up Severodonetsk in two or three days."

Zelensky said the fighting in Severodonetsk has been "difficult" and is a battle that could ultimately determine the future of Ukraine. The Donbas region, which is comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, is located in far eastern Ukraine where pro-Russia separatists have been opposing Ukraine's government for eight years.

While Moscow keeps up pressure in Severodonetsk, its progress in the area around Izium -- located in eastern Ukraine just outside the Donbas -- has been stalled since April, according to the British Defense Ministry. British intelligence officials said this week that Ukrainian fighters have so far made good use of the terrain to slow Russia's advance.

"Russia has likely attempted to reconstitute [Eastern Group of Forces] after they suffered very heavy casualties in the failed advance on Kyiv, but its units likely remain understrength," the ministry said in a statement Thursday.

"Russia likely seeks to regain momentum in this area in order to put further pressure on Severodonetsk, and to give it the option of advancing deeper into the Donetsk Oblast."

Fighting across Ukraine has been constant since the Russian invasion in February and the impact continues to be felt worldwide -- particularly in the areas of trade, energy and food.

Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, said the food crisis "may rapidly turn into a food catastrophe of global proportions in 2023," according to CNBC.