The Ukrainian military has reported another day of heavy fighting in the Donetsk region, especially on the northern approaches to the key city of Sloviansk.
The armed forces' General Staff did not acknowledge losing any territory but said Russian troops had resumed their offensive near Sviatohirsk, some 12 miles (20 km) north of Sloviansk, and had suffered losses. It said there had been further air strikes against Sloviansk. The city is located more than 300 miles east of the capital Kyiv.
Further east, the General Staff said Russian forces had tried to storm two districts (Bilohorivka and Mykolaivka), that, if lost by the Ukrainians, would put the city of Severodonetsk at risk of encirclement.
"The enemy suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment," the military said.
Local authorities reported the town of Bakhmut -- a lynchpin in Ukraine's defense of Donetsk and Luhansk -- had been shelled again. An agricultural machinery plant had been set on fire, they said.
Fighting in the south continues, with territory changing hands since a Ukrainian counter-offensive began a week ago.
The General Staff said the Russians were conducting an offensive in the area of Bila Krynytsia in the north of the Kherson region, a district recently retaken by Ukrainian forces. The head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, said Russian units had "retreated to previously occupied positions."
A grain storage silo was destroyed in the city of Mykolaiv, according to images from the area geolocated by CNN. The Operational Command South of the Ukrainian forces said "from the direction of the Black Sea and from the territory of Russia, the Black Sea coast of Mykolaiv region, ports and granaries were attacked by air-based cruise missiles."