Russia-Ukraine live updates | Ukraine set to quit ruined Sievierodonetsk as Russians close in

After weeks of ferocious fighting, Ukrainian forces have begun retreating from a besieged city in the country’s east to move to stronger positions, a regional official said on Friday, the four-month mark in Russia’s invasion.

The planned withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk, the administrative centre of the Luhansk region, comes after relentless Russian bombardment that has reduced most of the industrial city to rubble and cut its population from 100,0000 to 10,000. Ukrainian troops fought the Russians in house-to-house battles before retreating to the huge Azot chemical factory on the city’s edge, where they remain holed up in its sprawling underground structures in which about 500 civilians also found refuge.

In recent days, Russian forces have made gains around Sievierodonetsk and the neighbouring city of Lysychansk, on a steep bank across a river, in a bid to encircle Ukrainian forces.

Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.

Yavoriv

Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s Yavoriv military base – Regional Governor

 A Russian strike on the Yavoriv military facility in western Ukraine wounded four people, Lviv governor Maxim Kozitsky said in a video post on Saturday.

Mr. Kozitsky said six missiles were fired from the Black Sea, with four hitting the base and two being intercepted and destroyed before hitting the target.- Reuters

Moscow

Russian military cargo plane crashes, killing 5 crew members

A Russian military cargo plane crashed Friday on a training flight after refuelling about 124 miles southeast of Moscow, killing five crew members and leaving several others injured, officials said.

The heavy-lift Il-76 cargo plane went down in the Ryazan region after suffering an engine problem that forced the crew of 10 to crash-land. The plane, carrying no cargo, was flying from Belgorod to Orenburg, Russian news agency Tass reported.

The regional administration initially said that four crew members died and another five were injured when the plane hit a power line and slammed into a field just outside the city of Ryazan after refuelling at a local air base. Tass reported later that one of the injured had died.

Kyiv

Ukraine needs ‘fire parity’ with Russia to defend Luhansk region: Top General

Ukraine needs “fire parity” with Russia in order to stabilize the difficult situation in the country’s eastern region of Luhansk, Ukraine’s top general told his U.S. counterpart during a phone call on Friday.

“We discussed the operational situation and the delivery flow of international technical assistance,” Ukraine’s General Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote on the Telegram app after a phone call with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley.

Moscow

Russia says EU candidate status for Ukraine, Moldova will have negative consequences

Russia on Friday said the decision by European Union leaders to accept Ukraine and Moldova as membership candidates would have negative consequences and amounted to the EU’s “enslaving” neighbouring countries.

Although it could take years for the countries to join the European bloc, the decision to accept them as candidates is a symbol of the EU’s intention to reach deep into the former Soviet Union.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, called the move an attempt to encroach on Russia’s sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) made up of ex-Soviet states.- Reuters

Kyiv

Ukraine set to quit ruined Sievierodonetsk as Russians close in

Ukraine was set to pull its troops from the ruined city of Sievierodonetsk after weeks of street fighting and bombardment, the regional governor said, in what would be a significant gain for Russia as it grinds out its offensive in the east.

Russian troops also occupied a town about 10 km (6 miles) further south, both sides said on Friday, as Moscow closed in on the last slivers of Ukrainian-held territory in the industrial region of Luhansk.- Reuters