The fighting Friday focused on two key cities: Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk.
Russia-backed separatists claimed they captured a railway hub city in eastern Ukraine as Moscow's forces pushed to gain more ground Friday by pounding another Ukrainian-held area where authorities say 1,500 people have died since the start of the war.
But in Ukraine's east, Russia has the upper hand. They are the last areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas and where Moscow-backed separatists have controlled some territory for eight years. The figure includes people killed by shelling or in fires caused by Russian missile strikes, as well as those who died from shrapnel wounds, untreated diseases, a lack of medicine or while trapped under rubble, according to the mayor.
Ukrainian analysts said Russian forces have taken advantage of delays in Western arms shipments to step up their offensive in the east and secure territory before Ukraine's fighters could push them back. As Ukraine's hopes of stopping the Russian advance faded, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pleaded with Western nations:"We need heavy weapons. The only position where Russia is better than us, it's the amount of heavy weapons they have. Without artillery, without multiple launch rocket systems we won't be able to push them back."
On Thursday, Russian shelling of Kharkiv, a northeastern city that has been under assault while Ukrainian forces keep the invading troops out, killed nine people, including a father and his 5-month-old baby, the president said.
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