The most intense fighting has been in the vicinity of Bakhmut, a bombed-out ghost town that Russia has been attempting to storm for months at a high cost in lives and further north in the cities of Svatove and Kreminna, where Ukraine is attempting to breach Russian defensive lines

Russian forces fired 33 rockets at civilian targets in the Ukrainian city of Kherson in 24 hours, according to the Ukrainian military, as fighting intensified and Russia deployed more tanks and armoured vehicles to the front lines.

In the morning, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Russian forces were using mortars and artillery to attack populated areas on the right bank of the Dnipro River near Kherson.

Russia, on the other hand, denies targeting civilians.

Russian forces abandoned Kherson last month, marking one of Ukraine's most significant gains in the 11-month conflict, but fighting has slowed to a crawl as bitter winter weather sets in.

“The front line has changed very little, but the enemy's pressure has increased, both in terms of the number of men and the type and quantity of equipment,” said Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov.

According to Zhdanov, the fighting has escalated, with Russia deploying armoured vehicles and tanks.

The most intense fighting has been in the vicinity of Bakhmut, a bombed-out ghost town that Russia has been attempting to storm for months at a high cost in lives and further north in the cities of Svatove and Kreminna, where Ukraine is attempting to breach Russian defensive lines.

According to Reuters, burning fires were seen in a large residential building in Bakhmut, home to 70,000 people before the war and is now in ruins. The streets were littered with debris and most of the windows in the buildings had been blown out.

“Our structure has been destroyed. There used to be a shop in our building, but it is no longer there,” Oleksandr, 85, added that he was the only remaining resident.

Pilaheia, 73, said she had grown accustomed to the “constant explosions” in the area.

On 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation” to “denazify” his neighbour, which he claimed posed a threat to Russia.

Russia set out to conquer Ukraine in a matter of days, but its forces were defeated on the outskirts of Kyiv in the spring and forced to withdraw from other areas in the autumn.

Since World War II, Putin responded by mobilising hundreds of thousands of reservists for the first time.