UKRAINE appealed for more heavy weapons today as Russian advances in the eastern Donbass region continue. 

Roman Vlasenko, the head of the Severodonetsk district, said that Ukrainian forces needed more arms to repel the Russians as they looked to take control of the region. 

He claimed that Russian soldiers were in the suburbs and were advancing on the city. While they do not have a numerical advantage, Mr Vlasenko said they were better equipped. 

“Arms are reaching the front in many areas of Lugansk and Donetsk regions. But for the counter-offensive to be quick and effective we need more of them,” he said. 

Moscow says that its forces are fighting for the “complete liberation” of the Donbass, with the Russians now in control of more than 90 per cent of Lugansk. 

In his nightly address to the nation on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the west to “stop flirting” with Russia and impose tougher sanctions. 

“The catastrophic unfolding events could be still stopped if the world powers did not flirt with Russia but really pressed to end the war,” he said. 

Mr Zelensky complained that one nation, Hungary, was allowed to block the imposition of a new EU sanctions package on Russia including a ban on oil sales.