‘Relentless’: Russia squeezes Ukrainian strongholds in east

A damaged building ruined by attacks in Hostomel, outskirts Kyiv, Ukraine (Natacha Pisarenko/AP)

Russian forces on Friday pounded the last Ukrainian strongholds in a separatist-controlled eastern province of Ukraine, including a city where authorities said 1,500 people have been killed and 60% of residential buildings destroyed since the start of the war.

Ukraine’s foreign minister warned that without a new injection of foreign weapons, Ukrainian forces would not be able to stop Russia from seizing Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, locations that are crucial to Russia’s goal of capturing all of Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region.