Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that battles raged in the Donbass region (eastern Ukraine) today, Monday, while Kyiv announced that its forces had made progress in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions (south).
The reporter said that the pace of the Russian bombing intensified on the cities of Severodonetsk and Lychansk in the Donbass.
Earlier, Sergei Gaidai, the governor of Lugansk region - which together with the Donetsk region makes up the Donbass region - said that Russian forces control the main part of the city of Severodonetsk but not the entire city, adding that the fighting made evacuations from the city impossible.
In Lysichansk, on the other side of the Donets River, Gaidai said apartment buildings and private homes had been destroyed. "People are dying in the streets and in shelters," Gaidai said.
Russian forces are seeking to impose full control over the Donbass region, parts of which were controlled by Russian-backed separatists before the start of the Russian war on Ukraine on February 24, after failing to seize the capital Kyiv early in the war.
In southern Ukraine, the military command in Odessa announced that the Ukrainian air defenses on Monday shot down a number of Russian cruise missiles over the province, which is located on the Black Sea coast.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had killed more than 50 Ukrainian generals and officers in the Dnepropetrovsk region (central Ukraine) while targeting a command post of the Ukrainian forces, using Kalibr cruise missiles.
The ministry also announced the killing of 100 Ukrainian soldiers after a train carrying them to the Donbass was targeted by Kalibr missiles, and it spoke of the destruction of Western weapons, including M777 howitzers, during the same strike.
Ukrainian progress
In the context of military operations, Ivan Fedorov, Mayor of Melitopol in the Zaporozhye countryside (southern Ukraine), confirmed that the Ukrainian forces had recently made significant progress towards the city of Kherson, as these forces became close to the city.
Fedorov added that Ukrainian forces are also advancing in Zaporozhye, which Russian forces say they control large parts of.
Al-Jazeera correspondent had quoted the Ukrainian army that its forces had recently recaptured 25 villages in the Kherson countryside.
At the beginning of the war, Russian forces took control of Kherson and parts of its countryside.
The Al-Jazeera team was able to enter the positions of the Ukrainian army's control in the Kherson region, southern Ukraine, after the Russian forces took control of most of its areas.
Intensification of Russian attacks
In a video message via the Telegram app on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expected Russia to intensify its attacks while his country awaits the European Union's response to its membership application.
Zelensky said that he visited his forces in the Mykolaiv region (550 kilometers south of Kyiv), and said that his soldiers "have no doubts about our victory. We will not hand over the south to anyone, and everything that is ours will be restored."
Regarding the destruction caused by the Russian strikes in the Mykolaiv and Odessa regions, the Ukrainian president described the losses as great, and also referred to the widespread destruction as a result of the ongoing battles in the city of Severodonetsk in the Donbass region.
In a new assessment published on Monday, British intelligence said the weakness of the Russian air force may be the reason behind the limited military progress in Ukraine.
long war
For his part, the commander of the British army, Sir Patrick Saunders, stressed the need for his country's army "to prepare to fight in Europe once again";
Trying to defeat the forces of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He added that there is an urgent need to form an army capable of facing challenges amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, stressing the need to stand by his country's allies.
Sir Patrick Saunders' comments come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned Britons they will need to "prepare themselves for a long war" while Putin resorts to a campaign of attrition.
Two nuclear submarines
Meanwhile, the press office of the Russian Northern Fleet said that the fleet's two nuclear submarines "Severodvinsk" and "Smolensk" successfully carried out missile launches in the Barents Sea.
The press office added that the two submarines launched missile strikes against a group of warships of a supposed enemy in the Barents Sea using Kalibr and Granit missiles.
Amid the tensions related to the war in Ukraine, Moscow raised the possibility of resorting to nuclear power, which the United States considered irresponsible behavior on the part of Moscow.