Heavy fighting has raged in the Lysychansk city of the eastern Luhansk region. The Ukrainian separatists (the Lugansk militant outfit) backed by Russia has claimed victory over the city but the Ukrainian army on Saturday rejected claims and said heavy fighting was ongoing on its edges and the militants have not entered inside the region.
“Today the Lugansk popular militia and Russian forces occupied the last strategic heights, which allows us to confirm that Lysychansk is completely encircled,” Andrei Marotchko, a spokesman for the separatist forces, earlier told the TASS news agency.
Heavy fighting has raged around the edges of Lysychansk and fortunately, the city is currently under the control of the Ukrainian army,” Ruslan Muzytchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Guard, said on Ukrainian television.
As per reports, Russian forces have destroyed five Ukrainian army command posts in Donbas and Mykolaiv regions.
“High-precision weapons were stored at three different sites in the Zaporizhia region,” reported Al Jazeera.
The mayor of Ukrainian city Mykolaiv has directed residents to stay inside shelters as powerful explosions rock the city.
Ukraine says some of the Russian strikes have hit the residential premises on a southern resort town in Sergiyvka, 80km (50 miles) south of Black Sea port Odesa leaving 21 people dead and dozens injured.
“Rockets struck residential properties in Sloviansk, Donbas region, killing a woman in her garden and wounding her husband, a neighbour told AFP.
However, Russia has denied targeting civilians in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the United States is sending two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, to Ukraine and four additional counter-artillery radars and up to 150,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition.
On the other hand, UK condemned the ‘exploitation of prisoners of war’ after two more British men were held by Russia in east Ukraine.
They were charged with “mercenary activities” and reports said they could face the death penalty.
Earlier, two more Britons and a Moroccan man were sentenced to death on identical charges by the authorities in Russian-controlled Donetsk.
