KYIV/NIU-YORK, Ukraine—Ukraine ignored a Russian ultimatum to surrender the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on June 15 as Washington urged NATO defense ministers weighing more military support for Kyiv to not lose focus, saying the stakes were too high.
Sievierodonetsk, now largely in ruins, has been the main focal point of the war for weeks. Russia told Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant there to stop “senseless resistance and lay down arms” on the morning of June 15, pressing its advantage in the battle for control of eastern Ukraine.
