The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region has said that Russian forces controlled more than 75% of the besieged city of Bakhmut.
The battle for Bakhmut has been one of the bloodiest of the 13-month war, drawing comparisons with World War One due to massive casualties on both sides.
Moscow-installed regional leader Denis Pushilin published footage of himself on Telegram purportedly visiting the small mining city where battles have raged since last summer.
He is seen among ruins, clad in body armour and with explosions audible in the background. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the location or date of the video.
"I can say with absolute certainty, that more than 75% of the city is under the control of our units," Pushilin told state-run Rossiya-24 TV channel after his visit, though he cautioned it was too early to talk about Bakhmut's fall.
Russia says the capture of Bakhmut will open up the possibility for future offensives across Ukraine, while Kyiv and the West say the now smashed city has only symbolic importance.
In video from an unidentified underground location, Pushilin decorated fighters from the Wagner Group mercenary army that has been spearheading the assault on Bakhmut.
'Scorched earth' tactics
The commander of Ukraine's ground forces said the Russians were destroying buildings and positions in besieged Bakhmut in what he called "scorched earth" tactics.
Ukraine's Armed Forces General Staff said that fighting was heaviest along the western approaches to Bakhmut. The Russians were also targeting the city of Avdiivka, it said.
Ground forces commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said the defence of Bakhmut continued.
"The situation is difficult but controllable," he said in comments quoted by Ukraine's Media Military Centre.
Russia is sending in special forces and airborne assault units to help their attack as members of Russia's private mercenary Wagner group are now exhausted, Mr Syrskyi said.
Wagner mercenaries have spearheaded the Russian assault on Bakhmut which has left it largely in ruins.
"The enemy switched to the so-called scorched earth tactics from Syria. It is destroying buildings and positions with airstrikes and artillery fire," Mr Syrskyi said.
Ukraine's general staff said Russian forces had made unsuccessful advances on areas west of Bakhmut and at least ten towns and villages had come under Russian shelling.
The Russians had also made no headway in attacks on Avdiivka, it said.
Donetsk is one of four provinces in eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia declared annexed last year and is seeking to fully occupy in what appears to be a shift in its war aims after failing to overrun the country soon after its invasion in February 2022.
Read more on Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Western analysts say both sides have been losing large numbers of troops in the battle for Bakhmut, a regional transport and logistics hub prior to the war.
Control of Bakhmut could allow Russia to directly target Ukrainian defensive lines in Chasiv Yar in the east and open the way for its forces to advance on two bigger cities in the Donetsk region - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
While Ukraine has said it wants to inflict as many casualties as possible on the Russian forces as its prepares its own counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky last week acknowledged that if troops risked being encircled they could be pulled back.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russian forces controlled the centre of Bakhmut, with much of their assault focusing on the railway station.
"There is heavy fighting in the city centre and the enemy is gradually moving toward the western outskirts," Mr Zhdanov said.
The UK Defence Ministry said that over the last seven days, Russia also appeared to have increased its armoured assaults around the town of Marinka, also in Donetsk province.
"Russia continues to give a high priority to resourcing operations in the broader Donetsk sector, including the Marinka and Avdiivka areas, expending significant resources for minimal gains," it said.
In a video address last night, Mr Zelensky denounced Russian air strikes coinciding with the observance of Orthodox Palm Sunday.
Ukraine's State Emergencies Service said a 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia, in the southeast.
A woman identified as the wife and mother of the victims was pulled from under the rubble.
"This is how the terrorist state marks Palm Sunday," President Zelensky said in his address. "This is how Russia places itself in even greater isolation from the world."
The majority of Ukraine's 41 million people are Orthodox Christians who celebrate Easter next weekend, as does Russia.
Pope Francis, who has been critical of Russia's war, prayed for peace during Easter events in the Vatican yesterday.
"Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia," he said.
Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had destroyed a depot with 70,000 tonnes of fuel near Zaporizhzhia.
The forces destroyed Ukrainian army warehouses storing missiles, ammunition and artillery in the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, the ministry said.
Ukraine also reported widespread Russian shelling in northern regions. Officials in the south said Russian aircraft had used guided bombs against towns in the Kherson region.
