In his nightly video message, Zelenskyy stated that he had placed Ukraine’s new ground forces commander, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, in charge of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group, which

Russian forces are trying to bypass the city from the north and south, but so far without success, a military spokesperson said.

Ukraine has stopped production at its coking coal mine in Pokrovsk, which feeds the country's steel industry, because of the proximity of advancing Russian forces, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday.

The Russian army is strengthening its positions in villages around the key eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk in an attempt to encircle it and lay siege to a vital transport hub linking embattled Donbas with the rest of Ukraine.