Ukrainian forces have reversed a Russian advance in Sievierodonetsk and recaptured about 20 per cent of the city, according to the region's Governor.
Sergiy Gaidai, Governor of the Luhansk province, told national television on Saturday that Russian forces had suffered "huge casualties" and were blowing up bridges across the Siverskyi Donets River to prevent Ukraine bringing in military reinforcements.
"Right now, our soldiers have pushed them back," he said.
"They (the Russians) are suffering huge casualties.
"The Russian army, as we understand, is throwing all its efforts, all its reserves in that direction."
His claim of Ukrainian advances could not immediately be verified. Reuters reached Sievierodonetsk on Thursday and was able to verify that Ukrainians still held part of the city.
Ukraine's military said on Saturday Russia had reinforced its troops and had used artillery to conduct "assault operations" in the city.
But it said Russian forces had retreated after failed attempts to advance in the nearby town of Bakhmut and cut off access to Sievierodonetsk.
Mr Gaidai said in a social media post that four people were killed in Russian attacks in the region on Friday, including a mother and a child.
"As soon as we have enough Western long-range weapons, we will push their artillery away from our positions," Mr Gaidai said.
"And then, believe me, the Russian infantry, they will just run."
The war in Ukraine marked its 100th day on Friday.
Tens of thousands have died, millions have been uprooted from their homes, and the global economy has been disrupted since Moscow's forces were driven back from Kyiv in the first weeks of the conflict.
Zelenskyy calls for Russian expulsion from UNESCO after monastery hit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian artillery hit an early 17th-century Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in war-torn eastern Ukraine on Saturday, engulfing a church in flames.
Russia's Defence Ministry denied involvement, accusing Ukrainian troops of setting fire to the All Saints church before pulling back.
The Svyatohirsk Lavra monastery complex belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and lies near Russian positions in eastern Donetsk, one of two regions the Kremlin is focused on capturing.
Flames could be seen ripping through the timber walls of a church with onion domes in footage posted by Mr Zelenskyy on his official Telegram channel.
The footage could not be immediately verified.
"Russian artillery struck the Svyatohirsk Lavra in the Donetsk region again today. Destroyed All Saints Monastery," the Ukrainian leader wrote.
"It was consecrated in 1912. It was first destroyed during the Soviet era. Later it was rebuilt to be burned by the Russian army."
Mr Zelenskyy called for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO, saying there were no military targets present at the site.
Two monks and a nun were killed at the site in shelling on June 1.
Russia denies targeting civilians. It describes its actions in Ukraine as a special military operation.
The Svyatohirsk Lavra monastic settlement dates back to 1627. The All Saints church was built from timber in 2009 to replace the one destroyed in 1947.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which remained loyal to Moscow after a 2019 schism, said last month it would break with Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
ABC/wires
