It may have felt like an inevitability, but that does not make the fall of Severodonetsk any less painful for Ukraine.
For weeks it had been the main focus of Russia’s invasion, huge artillery barrages and air strikes reducing much of the old industrial city to rubble.
In the end, Ukrainian commanders said defending the ruins would cost too many lives.
In his Saturday night address after Russia had confirmed complete control of Severodonetsk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a difficult day, “morally and emotionally” for his country.
