TOP HEADLINES

· President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the situation on the front lines in Ukraine's east is getting tougher as Russia increases its troop numbers to attack Kyiv's defenses. READ MORE BELOW

· The head of Russia's private Wagner militia said fierce fighting continued in the northern parts of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focus of Russia's military campaign for weeks.

· Ukraine's deputy defense minister said that while Russia was attempting to encircle Bakhmut and stepping up its offensive around the Donetsk city of Lyman, Kyiv's forces were holding out. 

· Despite pro-Russian claims that Moscow had made gains around the village of Bilohorivka, the last part of Luhansk held by Ukrainian forces, the region's governor said Kyiv remained in control of the area. 

· Zelenskyy has removed the citizenship of several former influential politicians as part of his drive to get rid of pro-Russian influences in Ukraine. READ MORE BELOW

· Central Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast has been hit by two missiles, with one striking a residential building, local officials said on Sunday.

· Ukraine and Russia have swapped almost 200 prisoners of war, with the trade-off including the bodies of two British volunteers being sent back to Ukraine.

· Power has been restored to the city of Odesa after a fire at an overloaded substation left nearly 500,000 people in the Ukrainian port city without electricity. 

· British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Zelenskyy spoke over the phone about the importance of the international community speeding up assistance for Ukraine, Sunak's office said.

· The U.S. has warned Türkiye against exporting chemicals, microchips and other products to Russia that can be used in Moscow's war effort in Ukraine, saying that it could punish Turkish companies or banks that don't fall in line with Western sanctions.

IN DETAIL

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revoked the citizenship of several former influential politicians in his latest move to "cleanse" Ukraine of pro-Russian influences.

"Today, I signed the relevant documents to take another step to protect and cleanse our state from those on the side of the aggressor," Zelenskyy said during his nightly video address.

The president did not give the politicians names, but said they had dual Russian citizenship. According to Ukrainian state media, the list includes several top politicians from the office of Viktor Yanukovych, who was Ukraine's pro-Russian president from 2010 until he was ousted in 2014.

The list includes Ukraine's former minister of education and science, deputy prime minister, and interior minister, according to RBC-Ukraine news agency. Ukraine has stripped the citizenship from a number of high profile pro-Russian Ukrainians since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine in February last year.

Zelenskyy added that the situation on the front lines in the east of the country was getting tougher and Russia was sending more and more troops into battle. The Kremlin has been attempting to make battlefield gains in recent weeks ahead of the war's first anniversary and the arrival of fresh Western weapons, attempting to close its grip on the town of Bakhmut and fighting for control of a nearby supply route for Ukrainian forces.

Russian troops are also hoping to capture the Donetsk coal mining city of Vuhledar, some 120 kilometres southwest of Bakhmut.

"I've often had to say the situation at the front is tough, and is getting tougher, and it's that time again. ... The invader is putting more and more of his forces into breaking down our defences," Zelenskyy said. "It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Lyman and other directions," he continued.

On Friday, Zelenskyy said his forces would fight for Bakhmut "for as long as we can," but the situation there was becoming increasingly dire for Ukrainian forces.