A Russian strike killed five civilians and wounded 55 on Tuesday in the town of Izium in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, partially destroying the city council building, officials said.

Moscow’s troops used the same pincer tactic on Velyka Novosilka that has enabled their recent capture of town after town in eastern Ukraine.

Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine, as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyiv’s grip on the country’s industrial heartland.