Russia controls a fifth of Ukraine

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that Russian troops control about one-fifth of his country, including the annexed Crimean peninsula and territory in the east held by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.

"Today, about 20 percent of our territory is under the control of the occupiers," he said during an address to lawmakers in Luxembourg, as Russian forces hammered the last Ukrainian defences holding a strategic city in the Donbas region.

The war approaches its 100th day today and Washington warned it could still last for months.

Defending the east has come at a high cost for Ukraine, with Zelensky reportedly admitting that up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying daily.

The industrial hub of Severodonetsk in Lugansk, part of the Donbas, has become a key target for Moscow, and the local governor said that 80 percent of the city was already now under Russian control.

"Street fighting continues" in Severodonetsk, said Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday on Telegram, vowing that Ukrainian forces would fight "until the end".

Overnight, a missile struck railway infrastructure near the comparatively stable western city of Lviv, injuring five people, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said yesterday.

West of Severodonetsk, in the city of Sloviansk, AFP journalists saw buildings destroyed by a rocket attack.

On Wednesday, at least one person died and two others were injured in Soledar, between Sloviansk and Severodonetsk.

At a forum in Slovakia yesterday, Zelensky said Kyiv was grateful for the military aid it has received but added: "Weapons supplies should be stepped up ... (to) ensure an inflection point in this confrontation."

Russia has accused the US of adding "fuel to the fire" after President Joe Biden announced a $700 million weapons package for Ukraine that will include advanced rocket systems with a range of up to 80 km.

The United States has issued a fresh round of Russia-related sanctions targeting 17 individuals, including Sergei Roldugin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.

The latest sanctions also targeted 16 entities, seven vessels and three aircraft, a US Department of Treasury said in a notice on its website yesterday.