Ukrainian forces could pull back from embattled eastern city, says governor

The governor of Luhansk acknowledged the difficulties in Sievierodonetsk (Natacha Pisarenko/AP)

Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city appear on the cusp of retreat, although the regional governor insisted they were still fighting “for every centimetre” of the city.

The urban battle for Sievierodonetsk testifies to the painstaking, inch-by-inch advance by Russian forces as they close in on control of the entire Luhansk region, one of two that make up the industrial heartland known as the Donbas.