After his first visit to the eastern front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the destruction in the city of Kharkiv as a symbol of Russia's war of extermination and its own losses during this conflict.
"Black, burnt-out, half-ruined apartment buildings face east and north with their windows - from where Russian artillery was firing," he said in a video message on Sunday.
Russia can look into these houses like into a mirror, he said. "See how much it lost during these 95 days of full-scale war against Ukraine," Zelensky said.
Russia has lost not only the battle for Kharkiv, but also for the capital Kyiv and the north of Ukraine, the president said.
"It lost its own future and any cultural ties to the free world. They all burned down."
A third of the area around Kharkiv is still occupied by Russian troops, he said. "We will definitely liberate the entire territory."
Zelensky has also accused Russia of extensive destruction of the major city of Severodonetsk in the Donbass region. The entire infrastructure has been destroyed, Zelensky said in a video message from Kyiv on Sunday.
"90% of houses are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city's housing stock has been completely destroyed." Constant attacks are being launched on the city, he added.
The Russian army is desperate to conquer Severodonetsk, he said. "And they don't care how many lives they will have to pay for this attempt."
The attackers wanted to raise their flag on the administration building of Severodonetsk, which stands on the Boulevard of Friendship of Nations, Zelensky said, "no matter how bitter the name sounds now."
Ukraine was doing everything it could to contain the offensive, he said. "There was not a day that we did not try to find more weapons, more modern weapons to defend our land, to defend our people," the president said.
Severodonetsk has been the target of Russian attacks for months. The town is considered the last point still under control of the Ukrainian military in the Luhansk region.
The Ukrainian General Staff had said in its situation report on Sunday evening that the Russian army was trying to "gain a foothold on the north-eastern outskirts of the city of Severodonetsk" and was carrying out attacks in the direction of the city centre. The ground offensive was supported by artillery and air force.
