Day 112 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Fighting in Sievierodonetsk and Kharkiv Continues

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Heavy fighting in Sievierodonetsk and Kharkiv

Ukrainian forces are suffering heavy losses in the fighting against Russian troops in both the city of Sievierodonetsk and the Kharkiv region, Reuters reported, citing a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In his evening address, he also said that Ukraine needed modern anti-missile weapons at the moment, adding that there could be no excuse for partner countries to delay supplies. Some Russian missiles have escaped defense and inflicted casualties, Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president said local forces were still trying to evacuate civilians from Sievierodonetsk after Russia destroyed the city's last bridge.

"The heaviest fighting, as before, is in Sievierodonetsk and other nearby towns and villages. The losses, unfortunately, are painful," Zelensky said. "But we have to stay strong - to stay strong is so critical for Donbas. The more losses the enemy suffers there, the less strength he will have left to continue his aggression," he added.

Ukraine is also suffering "painful losses" in the Kharkiv region, east of Kyiv, where Russia is trying to strengthen its position after it was recently repulsed, Zelensky said. "The fighting there continues and we must continue to fight, to fight hard," he added.

Ukraine needs more Western weapons

The country has received "about 10 percent of the weapons" it wants from its Western partners to fight the Russian army on the ground, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said late last night, quoted by AFP.

"Of the weapons we need, we have...