Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Sievierodonetsk, a prime target in Moscow’s offensive to seize full control of the eastern region of Luhansk, was again under heavy artillery and rocket fire as Russian forces attacked areas outside the industrial city, the Ukrainian military said. The Ukrainian armed forces’ general staff admitted its forces had suffered a military setback in the settlement of Metolkine, just to the southeast of Sievierodonetsk.

In a rare trip outside Kyiv, Ukraine President Volodomir Zelensky visited the war-damaged city of Mykolaiv for the first time since Russian invasion. Meanwhile, the head of Nato said on Sunday the war in Ukraine could last years and Ukrainian forces faced intensified Russian assaults after the EU executive recommended that Kyiv should be granted the status of a candidate to join the bloc.

Russian missiles destroyed a fuel storage depot in the eastern Ukrainian town of Novomoskovsk on Saturday, the head of the regional administration said in an online message. Civilians sheltering at the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk refused to evacuate. Civilians sheltering at the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk refused to evacuate.

According to Russian General Mikhail Mizintsev, approximately two million Ukrainians have been brought to Russia since the invasion began on February 24th. The head of Nato said on Sunday the war in Ukraine could last years and Ukrainian forces faced intensified Russian assaults after the EU executive recommended that Kyiv should be granted the status of a candidate to join the bloc.