Russian troops are mounting constant attacks on Ukraine's positions in the east and pouring troops into the region, although forces loyal to Kyiv are holding on, senior Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
Russia said earlier in the day that its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front in the Luhansk region. Moscow said Ukrainian forces had retreated in the face of Russian attacks in Luhansk but did not say in which part of the region.
"The enemy's offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks," said deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar. "The situation is tense. Yes, it is difficult for us.
"But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very serious losses," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai earlier said Russia was pouring in heavy equipment and had mobilised troops but denied reports that Ukrainian forces were engaged in a major retreat.
"There is a lot of shelling. ... The attacks are coming from different directions in waves," Haidai said. "We see that they are transferring mobilised people (to the front), we also see that there is more (heavy) equipment."
Ukrainian and Western intelligence officials say the Russians are suffering very heavy casualties. Malyar said some assault units of the Wagner Group private army, involved in the most serious fighting, had lost 80% of their strength.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and David Ljunggren: Editing by Timothy Heritage)
