Russian pressure is intensifying to the north of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday, with heavy shelling on the city of Sloviansk and other nearby areas, where residents are being told to leave.  

More than 7.1 million people are thought to be displaced within Ukraine, most of them from the east.

A glass factory was turned into a bomb shelter in the city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk Region, where residents shelter.

Russia and separatist proxies were already in control of the southern part of Donetsk province when they effectively completed the seizure of the neighboring Luhansk region on Sunday with the capture of the city of Lysychansk, much of which now lies in ruins, Reuters reports.

Moscow says ejecting the Ukrainian military out of both regions is central to its “special military operation” to ensure its own security, in more than four months of what the West calls an unprovoked war.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.