Latest Russia-Ukraine war news: Live updates

The contested eastern city of Severodonetsk is still controlled by Ukraine, the Luhansk regional governor said Sunday morning in his latest update on Telegram.

“The enemy is not succeeding,” said Serhiy Haidai, adding that Russian forces remain stuck in the Hotel Myr on the eastern outskirts of the city. “Moreover, they are experiencing losses there because our [troops] are constantly shelling them there and knocking them out of the hotel. For now, they are hiding there, but they cannot proceed further.”

He rejected Russia’s claims that it captured the whole city. “Our boys are holding the line of defense. Severodonetsk is ours,” he said.

Haidai also said that Russian shelling of the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway, southwest of Severodonetsk, has decreased after the Ukrainians managed to push the enemy back farther east “by a few kilometers.”

Severodonetsk is one of the last big cities under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, and its capture would enable Russia to trumpet a victory after weeks of battlefield attrition. Only an estimated 10,000 people, one-tenth of its prewar population, remain in the city, and they have taken shelter in basements from Russian bombardment.