Ukrainian troops drive on a damaged road near Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region of Ukraine On June 2. Photo by EPA-EFE

June 7 (UPI) — Russian forces made advances Tuesday in the battle for the key eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, with airstrikes and artillery making some headway against stubborn Ukrainian resistance.

Since Moscow captured most of the city days ago, Ukrainian forces have mounted a counterattack that’s slowed Russian troops and forced them to commit additional resources and firepower.

Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk Region Military Administration, accused Russia of using “sabotage and reconnaissance groups” in the village of Bilohorivka, just west of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. The city sits on high ground next to the Siverskyi Donets River where Ukrainian troops successfully repelled a Russian assault in May.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Russia appears to be moving toward cutting off Severodonetsk area from the north and south.

“Russia made gains on the southern, Popasna axis through May but its progress in the area has stalled over the last week,” the ministry said in a tweet. “Reports of heavy shelling near Izium suggest Russia is preparing to make a renewed effort on the northern axis.

“Russia will almost certainly need to achieve a breakthrough on at least one of these axes to translate tactical gains to operational level success and progress towards its political objective of controlling all of Donetsk Oblast.

Elsewhere in Russian-held Mariupol, former city leaders said a lack of clean water and decaying corpses in the streets are causing an immediate health crisis for the thousands who remain there. Russian forces attacked the key southern port city for weeks before gaining full control.

The former leaders said that the summer heat has accelerated the decomposition of “thousands of corpses under the rubble.” Most buildings in Mariupol have been destroyed.

The Kremlin has banned international relief organizations from working in Mariupol and Russian officials have denied that there’s a threat of any health crisis in the city.

“There is no outbreak of cholera either in Mariupolor in other cities of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” Russian-appointed Donetsk Minister Alexander Oprishchenko said, according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian winemaker whose vineyard is on the edge of territory captured by Russia has won gold in the prestigious Decanter World Wines awards. It is the first time a Ukrainian wine won the title.

“I can’t say we were surprised that we won because our wine is really, really good,” Svitlana Tsybak, CEO of Beykush winery and president of the Ukrainian association of craft winemakers, said according.

War in Ukraine: Scenes from Kharkiv

A woman eats food given to her by volunteers at a food delivery station run by a Hare Krishna group in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 20, 2022.