Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk have been turned into “dead cities” by Russian bombing, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The fiercest fighting in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces is taking place in and around the city of Sievierodonetsk, where the Ukrainian president said more than 10,000 civilians are trapped due to the street fighting.
"They outnumber us, they are more powerful," Mr Zelenskiy said of the Russian forces there, adding that his country’s troops have "every chance" of regaining territory.
The situation on the ground remains highly volatile and it is unclear exactly how much of the city the Kremlin’s soldiers now occupy.
“Heavy urban fighting is ongoing, and control of terrain is likely changing hands frequently,” the US think tank the Institute for War Studies said in its latest assessment of the battle for Sievierodonetsk, a key Russian objective in its attempt to seize the whole of the Donbas.
Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, the province in which Sievierodonetsk lies, said on Monday that the Ukrainian army had recaptured almost half of the city over the weekend before losing some of it.
In a later update about his region, he added: “The Russian assault in the direction of Novookhtyrka and Voronove was also repulsed. In the area of Bilohorivka, the enemy uses sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
“During the past day, 10 enemy attacks were repulsed, one tank, three artillery systems, two armoured combat vehicles, one car and two ammunition depots were destroyed.”
The Independent was unable to verify these claims.
As well as the Donbas, the Russians are attacking positions in Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions.
Mr Zelensky has described the situation in Zaporizhzhia as “most threatening”, while the British Ministry of Defence shared reports of heavy shelling in Izium in Kharkiv province, saying this could signal Russia’s plan for “a renewed effort on the northern axis”.
Although Russia continues to make gains in Ukraine, questions have been raised about the morale and physical exhaustion of its troops.
Ukraine continues to receive weapons deliveries from the west, with the UK promising on Monday to send it long-distance rocket systems, which have a range of up to 50 miles.