The Siverskyi Donets, the fourth-longest river in Ukraine and longest in eastern Ukraine, had long been considered to be a strategic line of defense for the Ukrainian army during the war in Donbas. Being the longest river in the region, control of the Siverskyi Donets also meant an ability to freely maneuver military hardware north and south along the river's path, impact regional agriculture, and control the water supply to key cities such as Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Kharkiv, and others.[7]