Fighting intensifies in Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk

Russian troops fought street by street with Ukrainian forces on Monday in the key eastern city of Sievierodonetsk. The city, 90 miles south of the Russian border, lies within the last pocket of Ukrainian-controlled territory in Luhansk. Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said Russian forces had seized half the city as of Tuesday, and he added that artillery fire has destroyed most communications and 90 percent of buildings in the city, and only about 12,000 residents remain. Russian forces also shelled parts of northeast Ukraine and continued the battle for control in the south.

Any new support for Ukraine? European Union leaders on Monday agreed to embargo Russian oil transported by sea by the end of the year in the bloc’s latest sanctions. The embargo will grant a temporary exemption for oil imported by pipeline as a concession to landlocked Hungary. Ursula Von der Leyen, head of the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, said the ban could cut about 90 percent of oil imports from Russia. The EU nations also extended a $9.7 million assistance package to support Ukraine’s economy.

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