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The city of Lysichansk witnessed fierce battles
There were conflicting reports about the control of the strategic city of Lysechhansk in eastern Ukraine.
While Kyiv asserts that its forces in Lysichansk are still steadfast in the face of intense Russian bombardment, pro-Moscow separatists say that they have entered the city and reached its center.
Russian media published pictures showing pro-Moscow separatists or Russian forces roaming the city’s streets.
Russian sources also published a video of the flag of the former Soviet Union being raised on a war memorial, which they claimed was in Lysechansk, but its authenticity has not been confirmed.
Lysechansk is described as the last stronghold of Ukrainians in Luhansk, which is part of the Donbass industrial region.
Russian forces captured the nearby city of Severodonetsk last month.
Serhiy Heyday, governor of Luhansk, said the attacks on Lyschansk had not stopped, as Russian forces were approaching from every direction.
Moscow is focusing its ground offensive on the Donbass region.
Russia also bombed Sloviansk, a city in the Donbas region controlled by Ukrainian forces, again.
The city’s mayor, Vadim Lyach, said banned Russian cluster munitions had killed four people there, another claim the BBC was unable to verify.
Meanwhile, Russia launched more missiles towards cities in the north and south of Ukraine.
Railroads and power lines in the city of Kharkiv were damaged in a series of attacks, and no injuries were reported.
The city of Mykolaiv, located on the main road to the coastal city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, was shaken by several explosions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air force destroyed five Ukrainian command posts and several ammunition depots, but this claim has not been independently verified.
The explosions came a day after Russia killed more than 20 people in a missile attack on a residential area near Odessa.
On Saturday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country’s air defenses had shot down Ukrainian missiles, but did not specify where.
Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he allowed Russian forces to invade Ukraine from Belarus in February.