Fighting reaches outskirts of key eastern Ukrainian city

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has reached the limits of the key eastern city of Severodonetsk, the regional governor said yesterday, describing the combat as "very difficult".

KYIV 

"Russian troops have advanced far enough that they can already fire mortars" on the city, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said in a statement on social media, adding that "there was already fighting on the outskirts" on Tuesday.

The Russian military has plotted a steady course deeper into Ukraine's eastern Donbas region since withdrawing its forces from the central and northern regions to consolidate efforts in the east.