Russian military commanders are reportedly deploying more reinforcements to Severodonetsk area amid their mounting combat losses, said Ukrainian regional governor Serhiy Gaydai on Tuesday.

They moved two battalion tactical groups to Kreminna-Rubizhne to bolster their offence lines in the  area while their artillery keeps up its barrage of the contested city in an attempt to claim control over the center of  Severodonetsk.

‘Heavy fighting is going on, Ukrainian defenders are fighting for every centimeter of the regional center. The orcs are alive and there are too many of them , but it is a matter of time,’ said the governor.

The Russian artillery is pummeling the industrial districts of the city – among the targets are  Skloplastic window making facility and a local chemical plant  sheltering some 500 civilians.

Monday Russian shelling struck Boriske, Synetskiy, Pavlograd, and Lysychansk suburbs. The overnight shelling of Luhansk town alone damaged about 50 residential buildings.