Severodonetsk

Ukrainian officials have called on civilians to urgently evacuate the city of Sloviansk as Russian troops press towards it in their campaign to secure the Donbas region.

Sloviansk has been subjected to "massive" Russian bombardment in recent days, with at least two people killed and seven others wounded in an attack on a marketplace Tuesday.

The Ukrainian army retreated from the strategic city of Lysychansk on July 3, as Russia claimed a major victory by seizing control of the entire eastern Lugansk region.

The Ukrainian withdrawal followed weeks of fierce fighting and marked a decisive breakthrough for Moscow's forces more than four months after their invasion and after turning their focus away from the capital Kyiv.

According to the BBC, U.S. officials estimate that the Russian troops are so weakened by the fight that they are only able to make slow territorial progress.

Ukrainian forces prepared on June 24 to retreat from the strategic city of Severodonetsk after weeks of fierce fighting, a setback that could pave the way for Russia to seize a larger swath of eastern Ukraine.

EU leaders will gather in Brussels on June 23 to discuss calls to formally grant war-torn Ukraine "candidate status" to join the bloc, as Russian forces slowly advance in the eastern Donbas region despite fierce resistance from Kyiv's military.

Ukrainian forces are facing "massive" and relentless artillery attacks in a battleground eastern city, Kiev warned, as Russian troops gained ground throughout the Donbas region.

Moscow's troops have been pummelling eastern Ukraine for weeks and are slowly advancing, despite fierce resistance from the outgunned Ukrainian military.

President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Brussels' support for Ukraine's European Union bid a historic achievement, as his country's eastern Donas region faced intense Russian shelling.

During the visit of the three European leaders to Kyiv, they pledged to provide full support to Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
Russia's announcements about the continuation of negotiations have met with criticism from Kyiv.
Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said that it was actually an attempt to deceive the world and then stab Ukraine in the back.

The United States has urged its citizens not to travel to Ukraine because of information that Russian forces have captured two American citizens. Zelensky met in Kyiv with Dritan Abazovic and Edi Rama.
Macron told Zelensky that Kyiv is obliged to negotiate with Moscow.

Russian forces pushed the Ukrainian army out of the center, destroying all bridges to the city.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Sweden has taken important steps to meet Turkey's demands for Stockholm membership in the Alliance.