Russia’s war in Ukraine

Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in “heavy battles” in the outskirts of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, according to Serhiy Hayday, the head of Luhansk region military administration.

“All the forces of the Russian army are now thrown there, all the reserves they now have,” Hayday said Tuesday.

Russian forces have suffered “huge number of losses and wounded,” because some troops are being tactically withdrawn to regroup, Hayday claimed. 

“The hospitals are overcrowded and the mortuaries are overcrowded,” he said.

CNN cannot independently confirm the number of casualties on either side.

Hayday added that “many warehouses behind enemy lines have been blown up” in the past few days, destroying “a huge amount” of Russia’s ammunition and fuel.

Hayday estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 residents remain in the city of Lysychansk.

Ukraine’s military announced Sunday that it had been “forced to withdraw” from the city, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the retreat from was motivated to save the lives of Ukrainian troops.

“They are looking for the pro-Ukrainian population, negotiating with collaborators, showing apartments where military families lived, breaking down doors and pulling out clothes,” Hayday said.

In a separate update, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Tuesday that Russian troops are concentrating their “main efforts” on taking control of the highway linking the cities of Lysychansk and Bakhmut and attempting to seize the nearby settlement of Bilohorivka.