Ukrainian city gearing up for full-on Russian attack

The Ukrainian city of Slovyansk is preparing for a full-on Russian attack.

It is the next city in line as Russian forces push west having recently taken Severodonetsk.

Colin Freeman, foreign correspondent for the Telegraph, has been reporting from Slovyansk and says the city has already been "getting shelled sporadically" and that Ukrainian troops "are gearing up for war".

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"What exactly they are up to, they don't tell us." 

The foreign correspondent did, however, note that "you do see movements of artillery and tanks and all sorts of other things".

"You can imagine certainly, they are gearing up for war," he added.

According to the latest Ministry of Defence (MOD) intelligence, "Russian forces will likely focus on taking several small towns during the coming week, including Siversk and Dolyna on the approaches to Slovyansk and Kramatorsk."

The MOD believes "the urban areas of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk likely remain the principal objectives for this phase of the operation".

"Russia continues to seek to undermine the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state and consolidate its own governance and administrative control over occupied parts of Ukraine."