Ukraine says Russia pounding Donbas but failed to capture targets

A family fleeing the village of Ruska Lozova arrive in their shrapnel-ridden car to a screening point in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 29, 2022. Hundreds of residents have been evacuated to Kharkiv from the nearby village that had been under Russian occupation for more than a month. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Russian forces pounded Ukraine's eastern Donbas region on Saturday but failed to capture three target areas, Ukraine's military said, while Moscow said Western sanctions on Russia and arms shipments to Ukraine were impeding peace negotiations.

The Russians were trying to capture the areas of Lyman in Donetsk and Sievierodonetsk and Popasna in Luhansk, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a daily update. "Not succeeding - the fighting continues," it said.