TASS news agency quoted a Russian military source as saying that Russian forces have stormed the last Ukrainian-controlled city of Luhansk province, while the G7 leaders continue to discuss the course and repercussions of Russia's war in Ukraine.
According to the Russian military source, the process of storming the city of Lyschansk is taking place from 5 axes, noting that the Ukrainian forces are liquidating what he called foreign mercenaries who are fighting in their ranks to avoid being captured.
The governor of Lugansk said that the evacuations from Lyschansk were getting more difficult every day, and that they were trying to save as many lives as possible.
For his part, Al-Jazeera correspondent stated that the city of Lyschansk was subjected to heavy artillery shelling for the third consecutive day, and that the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces was now focused on more than one axis in several towns south of the city.
In another development, the Ukrainian army said that its forces are advancing in the northern and western suburbs of Kherson and are taking control of new areas that were under the control of Russian forces.
The head of the Military Regional Administration of the city of Kryvyi Rih confirmed that Russian forces had retreated to the town of Olgeno in Kherson Province, but acknowledged that Russian forces had intensified their bombardment of towns on the line of contact in Kherson, wiping out entire villages.
bombing of Odessa
On the other hand, the Ukrainian Military Southern Command said today, Monday, that the Odessa region in southern Ukraine was subjected to a missile shelling, causing 6 casualties, including a child, while the conflict in Ukraine continues to dominate the agenda of the second day of the 3-day G7 summit. .
The Ukrainian Military Southern Command stated that the missiles were launched from Russian Tu-22 strategic bombers, targeting residential areas of civilians and causing the destruction of many residential buildings and farms in an area of 500 square meters, while firefighters struggle to control on the fire.
Ukraine recorded an increase in Russian missile attacks across the country on Sunday, with targeting a number of areas far from the front line, from the Lviv region in western Ukraine to Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Kiev.
Meanwhile, Russia launched a project to build more than 100 apartments for the reconstruction of the city of Mariupol after the war's destruction.
The war in Mariupol displaced more than half of its population, and caused significant damage to its infrastructure.
British army intelligence had said that the Russian army was seeking to regain momentum in the Izyum axis, with the focus of bombing on the cities of Lyschansk and Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
British intelligence indicated in its report today, Monday, that in the coming weeks, Russia may rely increasingly on reserve forces.
She pointed out that these reserve forces consist of a group of volunteers who work part-time and are deployed as full units dedicated to security tasks in the rear areas.
The British intelligence considered that despite the continuous shortage in the number of reserve soldiers, the Russian leadership is still reluctant to resort to general mobilization.
Ukraine's missile defense system
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the United States is likely to announce this week the purchase of an advanced medium to long-range surface-to-air missile defense system for Ukraine.
The source added that Washington is also expected to announce other security assistance to Ukraine, including additional artillery ammunition and radar devices to detect artillery shells, to meet the needs that the Ukrainian military said it wanted.
President Joe Biden in June approved $700 million in military aid to Ukraine, including advanced missile systems that can accurately hit long-range targets.
Yury Sak, an advisor to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, told Al Jazeera that Ukraine needs to obtain, as soon as possible, effective and modern air defense and anti-missile systems, given the intensity of Russian missile attacks on it.
A senior US administration official said Washington also plans to impose new sanctions on Russia targeting defense supply chains.
He added that the new sanctions will include Russian military companies, research bodies and dozens of Russian defense individuals and entities, noting that about 500 officials who "threaten the sovereignty of Ukraine" will be subject to these sanctions.
Canada deploys two warships in the Baltic Sea
For its part, Canada announced on Monday the deployment of two warships in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic, joining two frigates previously sent to the region to reinforce NATO's eastern flank in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Canadian Navy said in a statement that the two Canadian ships "Kingston" and "Summerside" belonging to Her Majesty the Queen sailed on a four-month mission as part of "Deterrence Measures in Central and Eastern Europe" that began in 2014 after Moscow annexed the Crimea.
The ships "Halifax" and "Montreal" are scheduled to return to the port next July, after their participation in the "Reassurance" operation, which is currently the largest military deployment of Canada abroad.
The mission also includes about 700 Canadian soldiers in Latvia with electronic warfare and artillery capabilities, in addition to several military aircraft.
G7 summit in Germany
Politically, the conflict in Ukraine continues to dominate the agenda of the second day of the three-day G7 summit in southern Germany on Monday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set to join the talks via a video link.
On Sunday, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States flocked to the Bavarian Elmau Palace Hotel with the aim of jointly increasing pressure on Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and mitigating the negative impact of the war.
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations have already used the summit as a platform to announce a ban on Russian gold imports and a joint infrastructure initiative to counter Chinese influence in middle-income countries, and talks are also underway about a possible cap on oil prices.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel participated in Sunday's discussions.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will join the group via video link to discuss the food crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also scheduled to address the G7 leaders' meeting via video link later today.