Russian forces advancing towards the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk are putting increasing pressure on the surrounding region, including the twin city of Sievierodonetsk, Britain’s defence ministry said on Thursday.

“Since 19 June, Russian forces have highly likely advanced over 5 km (3 miles) towards the southern approaches of the Donbas city of Lysychansk,” the ministry said in a daily update on Twitter.

Russia sending large number of reserve troops to Sievierodonetsk

The fight for the twin cities is “entering a sort of fearsome climax”, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said.

Russia seeks to capture both Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up Ukraine’s industrial heartland of Donbas.