Russian forces now control "most" of eastern Ukraine's Severodonetsk, the scene of fierce battles for days as the Russian army tries to seize it, the local governor said Tuesday, according to AFP.
"Unfortunately, today, Russian troops control most of the city," the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said in a video. He added that "90 percent" of the city was destroyed.
He said there was now "no possibility to leave Severodonetsk".
Moscow's forces appeared to be advancing in their goal of seizing the key city, with Gaiday several hours earlier saying they controlled "half" of it.
He nonetheless said that Kyiv's army still "holds the defenses in their current positions" and added that the Ukrainian military was not in danger of being "surrounded".
Meanwhile, Ukraine's State Service for Special Communication and Information Protection reported on Tuesday a "shutdown of all communications" in the Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson, according to Reuters.
The agency said in a statement that an unspecified intrusion "by the occupation regime" had taken place and that equipment had been powered down and cables disconnected.
"The residents of the region are currently left without Ukrainian mobile communication and Internet access, as well as with no means to make national and international phone calls using landline phone devices," the agency added.
Russian forces captured Kherson in the first week of the invasion of Ukraine, the first major city to be captured after invading the country last month.
The latest news comes a day after European Union (EU) leaders on Monday announced a ban on most Russian oil imports, after a compromise deal with Hungary to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
The US and other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
In April, Washington announced new measures against Russia, such as sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for even harsher sanctions that are economically destructive enough for Russia to end its war against his country.
