LUGANSK, May 31. /TASS/. One third of the city of Severodonetsk, Lugansk People’s Republic, has been liberated already, LPR head Leonid Pasechnik said in an interview for TASS.

"We can state it already that one third of the city is under our control already," Pasechnik told TASS.

According to the LPR head, the fighting is currently going on in urban area, and advance proceeds slower than desired.

"But we wild like to preserve the city infrastructure first and foremost," Pasechnik underscored, adding that the Ukrainian side’s goals "are opposite, so their tactic of hiding behind civilians has been in active use in Severodonetsk since the beginning of the military operation."

The LPR head pointed out that republican forces’ main goal currently is liberation of Severodonetsk and Lisichansk.

"Our main goal right now is to liberate Severodonetsk and Lisichansk. According to the military, the Ukrainian forces group on these directions is about 10,000 people," he said.

The LPR People’s Militia has been advancing towards Severodonetsk and Lisichansk since early March. The fight for these cities is being complicated by layered Ukrainian defenses and several major chemical enterprises located in the area.