Russian forces are marching in Ukraine’s east.

According to the governors of Donetsk and Kharkiv, Russian soldiers resumed their drive into eastern Ukraine, murdering eight people in rocket assaults. After failing to conquer the capital Kyiv in the first few weeks of the war, Moscow’s army has refocused on the east, particularly the Donbas area, which comprises Donetsk and Luhansk. The BBC described the situation in the town of Lysychansk, which is surrounded on three sides by Russian forces, as “grim.”

According to Ukraine’s military staff, fighting is particularly severe in Izyum, Lyman, and Rubizhne as the Russians prepare to strike Severodonetsk, the last easterly city still controlled by Kyiv. “In a few words, the situation in the Luhansk area is lively and severe fighting continues,” the defense ministry noted. The governor of Luhansk has predicted more heavy fighting ahead of May 9, when Russia commemorates Nazi Germany’s surrender to ally troops, notably the Soviet Union, in 1945.

After Ukrainian forces retreated, Lyman, a historic railway hub known as the “red town” for its red-brick industrial buildings, is likely to be one of the first locations to fall. According to an AFP crew in the vicinity, Russian soldiers looked to have made significant gains surrounding the town, pushing on their positions by several kilometers. Russia has taken steps to strengthen its hold on territories it controls, introducing the Russian rouble in the Kherson region on Sunday, originally to be used alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia.

As Russia’s assault on Ukraine grinds on, Western countries have attempted to increase the pressure on Moscow, with sources telling AFP Sunday that the European Union will propose a phased-out ban on Russian oil imports as part of a new wave of sanctions against Moscow.

According to diplomats, the European Commission, which drafts penalties for the EU’s 27 members, is working on a document that may be presented to member states as early as Wednesday. According to some diplomats, the oil embargo was made feasible by Germany’s policy U-turn, which had previously opposed the action as excessively disruptive and potentially destructive to its economy.

Nancy Pelosi, the US Speaker of the House, met with President Zelensky on Saturday, becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit since the conflict began. “Do not be bullied by bullies,” she warned reporters after returning from Ukraine during a press conference in Rzeszow, southern Poland, on Sunday.

“You can’t back down if they’re threatening you.” She committed to implementing US President Joe Biden’s $33 billion (31 billion euro) armaments and assistance package unveiled last week. Russia has been looking for strategies to counter increasing international criticism.