Intense street to street fighting is ongoing in the key eastern city of Severodonetsk and both Ukrainian and Russian sides are likely suffering high numbers of casualties, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update.
However, Russian forces have not made advances into the south of city, the MoD says.
It adds that Russia is massing fires with its artillery and air capabilities, in an attempt to overwhelm Ukrainian defences.
The UK MoD says Russia is running short of more precise modern missiles and is resorting to heavy anti-ship missiles against land targets in Ukraine which are primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using a nuclear warhead.
When employed in a ground attack role with a conventional warhead they are highly inaccurate and can therefore cause significant collateral damage and civilian casualties. (BBC)