Sievierodonetsk Raion

A group of young off-duty Ukrainian soldiers gathered at a military distribution center to enjoy a rare respite from the fighting that has again engulfed their fractured home in eastern Ukraine.

A Russian missile strike on a crowded mall in central Ukraine killed at least 18 people in what Group of Seven leaders branded "a war crime" at a meeting in Germany where they looked to step up sanctions on Moscow.

Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as G-7 leaders discussed new sanctions against Russia in Germany. To the east, the battle continued in the city of Lysychansk, the last major Ukrainian-controlled city in the Luhansk region.

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

Ukrainian forces withdraw from Sievierodonetsk

Ukrainian forces have begun withdrawing from Sievierodonetsk, the last major bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region. This happened four months after the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian forces prepared on June 24 to retreat from the strategic city of Severodonetsk after weeks of fierce fighting, a setback that could pave the way for Russia to seize a larger swath of eastern Ukraine.

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

Russia owns all of Sievierodonetsk without its largest plant, Ukraine confirmed

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

Ukraine has confirmed that it has lost control of a settlement near Sievierodonetsk

Ukraine has said it has lost control of a settlement near the key eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, for which it has been fighting fierce battles with Russian troops for weeks.

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

Attacks continue in Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk and Bakhmut

Four people were killed in an air strike by the Russian army against a building where civilians are hiding in the city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

Russia said it would establish a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from a chemical plant in Severodonetsk starting Wednesday as Ukrainian forces wage a desperate battle for control of the city.

The industrial hub is under intense bombardment as Russia focuses its offensive on the eastern Donbas region in an effort to seize a swathe of Ukraine.

Ukraine's president has made an impassioned plea to Western allies to speed arms deliveries and help stem "terrifying" casualties as Russian forces lay siege to the eastern city of Severodonetsk, destroying the last bridges into the industrial hub.