Sharjah24 - AFP: With a see-saw battle for control of the strategically important city of Severodonetsk raging on, a senior Ukrainian official said Sunday that his country's forces now control "half of the city".
The gains, announced by regional governor Sergiy Gaiday, would represent a significant advance by Ukrainian troops, who earlier had appeared on the verge of being driven out of the large eastern city.
As heavy fighting continued in the east, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Sunday that Moscow will hit new targets if the West supplies Ukraine with long-range missiles.
His comment came hours after several explosions rocked Kyiv, the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, and they followed a recent US promise to supply Ukraine with more potent missile systems.
Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Fighting since April has been concentrated in the east of the country, where Russian forces have been making slow but steady advances after being beaten back from other parts of the country, including Kyiv.
- 'Horror show' -
Severodonetsk -- the largest city still in Ukrainian hands in the Lugansk region of the Donbas region -- has been a focal point in recent weeks.
Russia's army had claimed Saturday some Ukrainian military units were withdrawing from Severodonetsk, but mayor Oleksandr Striuk said Ukrainian forces were fighting to retake the city.
On Telegram Sunday, Gaiday said: "The Russians were in control of about 70 percent of the city, but have been forced back over the past two days.
"They are afraid to move freely around the city."
Gaiday warned, however, that a major new Russian push on Severodonetsk appeared imminent.
He said Russian forces had been tasked with gaining control of the city by Friday, as well as a key transport artery nearby.
"We expect in the near future that all the reserves that they now have access to... they will throw to perform these two tasks," Gaiday said, predicting "a large increase" in shelling by the Russian side.
Across a river in the neighbouring city of Lysychansk, pensioner Oleksandr Lyakhovets said he had just enough time to save his cat before the flames engulfed his flat after it was hit by a Russian missile.
"They shoot here endlessly... It's a horror show," the 67-year-old told AFP.
On Sunday, the press service of the Ukrainian president's office reported nine civilians killed in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions from shelling.
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