Joe Inwood
Reporting from Kyiv

At the start of this war, Ukraine's President Zelensky said the country desperately needed weapons but after a couple of months or so the mood shifted. He then said they were getting what they needed and thanked the West.

Now, as the war in the east appears to be turning against them, we are once again hearing that Ukraine is not getting the weapons it requires.

The governor of the Luhansk region singled out Germany and Hungary for criticism earlier this morning - suggesting they had slowed down the supply of heavy weaponry.

Meanwhile, the focal point of Russia's attack has become Severodonetsk. The shelling there has been so intense it is said to be impossible to assess casualties.

Russia is throwing huge amount of resources into its attempt to take the city and it looks like it is having some success.

Image source, .

The UK's Ministry of Defence has just published its latest intelligence briefing assessing the situation for Russian forces.

"Russia has likely suffered devastating losses amongst its mid and junior ranking officers," it says.

"The loss of a large proportion of the younger generation of professional officers will likely exacerbate its ongoing problems in modernising its approach to command and control."

The briefing also adds that a lack of experienced commanders is "likely to result in a further decrease in morale and continued poor discipline".

We have more from Serhiy Haidai, Luhansk regional head, on what is going on in the city of Severodonetsk which is facing an assault from Russian forces.

He says there is virtually no gas, water and electricity in the city, and the only communication lines the Ukrainian authorities currently have are with a humanitarian centre in Severodonetsk and a hospital via Starlinks (Elon Musk’s internet).

About 90% of houses in the city have been damaged by shelling.

Describing the Russian tactics, Haidai says: “They would be shelling for three, four, five hours and then advance. Those who are attacking are being killed, and then shelling starts again, and then another attack. And this would be happening until they are able to break through our positions somewhere.

“The weather is quite hot right now. And all over Severodonetsk’s outskirts, we have this persistent corpse stench because they [Russians] are not taking the bodies.”

What's more, he says, “one million people [across the Luhansk region] are left without water”.

Haidai describes the Ukrainian defenders as “heroes” because they are in “the most difficult situation” on Ukraine’s battlefields.

“We are being fired upon with all the Russians have at their disposal. And despite this, the boys are holding on in this part of the Luhansk region until our country’s military get the necessary weapons” to push back the enemy.

We have more from the governor of the Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai about the situation in eastern Ukraine.

In his latest Telegram post, external, he says:

• the Russians are advancing into the middle of Severodonetsk, the fighting continues, the situation is very difficult
• a car with two volunteers was shot in Severodonetsk, they are wounded, but safe
• the critical infrastructure of Severodonetsk is destroyed
• It is dangerous to use the Lysychansk-Bakhmut route, we use safer options for the evacuation and transportation of humanitarian goods, he adds

Two civilians have been killed and five wounded by shelling as Russian troops entered the outskirts of the Ukrainian city Severodonetsk, Luhansk region governor Serhiy Haidai has said on messaging app Telegram.

Most of them are residents of one block in the old part of the city he said, adding they were preparing food in the yard when the shelling suddenly started.

The Reuters news agency is quoting the governor as saying there is "heavy fighting is ongoing for Severodonetsk and Lysychansk," and he describes the situation as "very difficult".

"The enemy has deployed all possible weapons, including aviation. However, our military is holding out firmly to not let the enemy go deeper into the country," Haidai said.

The neighbouring city of Lysychansk remains under Ukrainian control, and evacuations are being carried out of the city, he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and thanks for joining us as we restart our coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here are some of the latest headlines:

• Russia has "already lost not only the battle" for Kharkiv, Kyiv and northern Ukraine, but also "its own future and any cultural ties to the free world", President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address. "They all burned down," he added.
• The speech came after his visit to the front line in Kharkiv region, where some of the heaviest fighting continues as the Russian invasion nears 100 days.
• Russia has been relentlessly shelling eastern Ukraine as it tries to push out the country's forces from the Donbas region - an area it has described as a "priority"
• Meanwhile, the EU failed to reach an agreement on fresh sancitons against Russia as Hungary, a Moscow ally, continues to block them over fears about energy supplies
• Another Russian ally, Serbia, annnounced that it has secured an "extremely favourable" three-year deal with Moscow for natural gas supply