Ukraine forces pushed back to outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, say Donbas leaders

Ukrainian forces have been pushed back to the outskirts of the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk amid heavy fighting in the city and frontline villages to the south as Russia pursues a breakthrough in Donbas, regional leaders have said.

Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, said most of the city was now in Russian hands and that it was no longer possible to rescue civilians stranded there.

It is estimated there are around 15,000 civilians remaining in both Sievierodonetsk and neighbouring Lysychansk, which had a combined population of around 200,000 before the war. Many are elderly and a handful, Haidai said, were waiting for the Russians to bring peace to the area.

Ukraine also reported increased air raids, plus heavy shelling, rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire around Bakhmut, 30 miles south-west, where its interior ministry said a school, where 400 children were taught before the war, had been completely destroyed by artillery.

Russia changed its invasion plan in April after its botched attempt to seize the major cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa. The focus turned to Donbas, made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, the latter of which remains more under Ukrainian control.

Fighting also continued around Mykolaiv as Ukraine persisted in trying to stage limited counterattacks towards the occupied city of Kherson. Russia said it had shot down two MiG-29 aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter in the region, plus 11 drones.

The Russian-installed administration in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine plans to stage a referendum later this year on joining Russia, according to Russian news agencies. Russian-installed officials in Kherson province further west have already announced similar plans.