Live: Fighting around Sievierodonetsk intensifies as Russia fails to capture city

While Russian troops claim to have taken the strategic town of Lyman and the fighting for Sievierodonetsk continues to rage, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow should not think that it will be holding the cities as they will eventually return to Ukraine. 

Elsewhere, UK PM Boris Johnson said that Russia was making "palpable" progress in the Donbas, urging the rest of the allies to keep supplying Kyiv with weapons.

Follow Saturday's developments as they unfold in our blog below, or watch our live coverage in the player above:

"The Donbas will be Ukrainian", President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech on Friday night, commenting on Russian claims of taking control of Lyman and attempts to seize Sievierodonetsk.

Kyiv fears a repeat of the horrors of Mariupol as a Russian offensive in the eastern Donbas region makes progress amidst intense fighting. 

Boris Johnson also says Russia is making 'palpable' progress in eastern Ukraine, despite the cost to the Russian military. The British PM said continuing to support Ukraine militarily was "absolutely vital".

The Moscow branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church announced on Friday that it was breaking with Russia, declaring its "full independence" from Russian spiritual authorities -- a historic move.

Nearly 3 million Ukrainian refugees have left the countries bordering Ukraine, where they flocked after the Russian invasion, to move to other non-neighbouring European countries, according to the UNHCR.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke defiantly Friday in two speeches about his country’s ultimate victory over Russian forces in both the most pressing battle in eastern Ukraine and the war, generally.

“Ukraine is a country that has destroyed the myth about the