Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting a street war for control of the city of Severodonetsk, in a pivotal chapter in the Russian campaign to control the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, while diplomatic efforts continue to ensure a safe passage for Ukrainian grain exports amid fears of a global food crisis.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, during a meeting with journalists in Kyiv on Monday, that the Ukrainian forces defending Severodonetsk "maintain their positions" despite the attacks of Russian forces, which are "more numerous and more powerful".
Zelensky described the situation on the Eastern Front as "difficult", and said that Severodonetsk and Lesichansk "today are desolate cities."
The Ukrainian president warned that a Russian penetration into the Donbass region would make the matter very difficult.
For its part, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russia is strengthening its presence with personnel and equipment to control Severodonetsk, the largest city remaining under Ukrainian control in Lugansk Province.
Severodonetsk became the main target of the Russian offensive in the Donbas region, consisting of Lugansk and Donetsk provinces, in the midst of a war that devastated Ukrainian cities with artillery bombardment.
According to the Ukrainian forces, thanks to a counterattack, they were able to retake parts of Severodonetsk and now control half of the city.
"The defenders of our country succeeded in launching a counterattack ... but the situation has worsened a little for us again," Sergei Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk city, told Ukrainian television.
Severodonetsk mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said street fighting was raging and neither side seemed ready to withdraw.
Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed that between 10 and 15 thousand civilians are still in Severodonetsk, which has been bombarded by Russian artillery for weeks.
Zelensky sought to support his forces, on Sunday, by visiting two cities near the battlefront.
"What you all deserve is to win. That's the most important thing. But not at any cost," he said in a video.
He added that he had visited Lyschansk - south of Severodonetsk - and Soledar, as one of his rare visits outside Kyiv since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine on February 24.
Meanwhile, Russian officials threatened that their country would expand military operations if new weapons arrived from Western powers to support Kyiv.
In the latest statements, Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "We will have to expand the scope of operations in Ukraine if the new weapons arrive."
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said - in a press conference - that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Western countries that the more weapons they had to Ukraine, the more Moscow would increase the area of the military operation in Ukraine.
Putin orders compensation
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree stipulating the payment of 5 million rubles ($81,500) to the families of each member of the Russian National Guard who died in Ukraine and Syria, the Russian TASS news agency said on Monday.
The decree amounts to an official recognition that members of the guard are among the dead in the war in Ukraine, which Russia describes as a special military operation.
The National Guard, which reports directly to Putin, was created in 2016 in the name of fighting terrorism and organized crime, and was used locally to counter anti-government protests.
Western analysts interpreted its spread since the early stages of the war in Ukraine as a sign of misplaced confidence that Russia would quickly seize major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, where the National Guard could then be used to maintain order.
food export crisis
On the issue of the suspended grain crisis in Ukrainian ports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a Russian delegation would discuss in Turkey the details of proposals to export food and grain from Ukraine to other countries.
Lavrov's statement came after the Russian newspaper "Izvestia" said that Russia had agreed with Turkey and Ukraine on a preliminary plan to ship Ukrainian grain from Odessa.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that his country is not ready to agree to a plan to export its grain by rail through Belarus, to circumvent Russia's blockade of its ports on the Black Sea.
Zelensky said up to 75 million tons of grain could be stuck in Ukraine this fall.
Also in the context of the crisis, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused Russian forces of destroying the second largest grain storage station in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, and said that this would deepen the global food crisis.
In the sanctions file, the US Department of Justice ordered the confiscation of two planes owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, noting that they were used in violation of sanctions imposed on Russia over its war on Ukraine.
The ministry said in court documents that the two planes, valued at more than $400 million, are the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and the Gulfstream G650ER jet, headed for Russian regions in Russia. earlier this year in violation of US export restrictions.
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expansion of the ban list against US citizens who are banned from entering Russia to include an additional 61 persons.
The ministry said it had included the US Treasury and Energy secretaries on Russia's list of personal sanctions.