UK intelligence believes Russia has fired senior commanders who “performed poorly”

Ukrainian military officials say 12 people were killed in the eastern Luhansk region and 60 properties destroyed by Russian bombardments on Thursday.

But, they note, Russian forces do not appear to have made any headway on the main front lines in Luhansk and Donetsk in the past day. 

Civilian deaths: The 12 people were killed in the city of Severodonetsk, according to the head of the military administration in Luhansk, Serhii Hayday.

Hayday said many homes were destroyed throughout the area.

Lines holding: Despite the intense bombardment, the Ukrainians say their defensive lines are holding. “The assault on Severodonetsk was unsuccessful. The Russians suffered personnel losses and retreated,” Hayday said.

State of the city: Oleksandr Striuk, head of the Severodonetsk city military administration, said there are up to 15,000 civilians still in the city, living in bomb shelters and basements. 

Russians push on: South of Severodonetsk, Russian forces tried to break through around the town of Toshkivka, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.

In their efforts to complete the seizure of Luhansk, the Russians have also tried to push toward the small town of Vyskryva. If successful, they would also be closer to another objective: the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk, which has become a hub for the Ukrainian military as it tries to resupply its defensive positions. 

On the Donetsk front, there was continued shelling of settlements north of Sloviansk.

Further north in the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces have launched a counter-offensive in recent weeks, Russian shelling of areas retaken by Ukrainian forces continues, according to the Ukrainian military. The city itself has seen much less incoming fire.