Sievierodonetsk bombing so intense casualties can’t be assessed, officials say

Russian forces are hitting largest city in Donbas still held by Ukraine 200 times an hour' causing huge damage

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

Officials in eastern Ukraine say Russian shelling of Sievierodonetsk has been so intense that it has not been possible to assess casualties and damage, as Moscow closes in on the largest city still held by Ukraine in the Donbas.

The situation has extremely escalated," Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk region, said on Sunday. Witnesses said the city was being bombed 200 times an hour" as Russian forces try to cut off reinforcement lines and surround its remaining defenders.