Russian shelling kills 10 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian forces withdraw from Lyman in Donetsk Oblast

7.28 p.m: Kremlin still plans to seize Kyiv, Russian media website Meduza has reported citing its sources in the Kremlin.

Despite Russia's defeat in the northern regions of Ukraine, "Russia's top leadership has not yet abandoned the idea of seizing Kyiv" and hopes to attack the Ukrainian capital again after gaining a small victory in Donbas.  Russian leaders hope"by the fall, everything will be over."

One of the sources of Meduza said that Russia "obviously has more resources" than Ukraine.

6.03 p.m: School teachers in Kherson have refused to cooperate with occupiers, said Kherson governor Hennadiy Lahuta.

During a press briefing, he said the Russian occupiers have been trying to renew a version of peaceful life under their rule in those parts of Kherson Oblast, where there are no active war actions.

Russians have been trying to re-educate local children and therefore they ordered all teachers to go to Crimea and pass an advance training in Crimea. But the teachers and principals refused to cooperate.

4.15 p.m: Heavy fights continue for Severodonetsk, a city in Luhansk Oblast where Ukrainian forces control over 5 percent of the territory. 

Severodonetsk military administration head Oleksandr Stryuk said that for now, Ukrainian forces hold the city. However, Russians have already been fortifying the positions at the perimeters of Severodonetsk.

"The city held on, although the last day was quite tough. Fighting already taking place almost on the outskirts, at the entrance to the city," Stryuk said.

Ukrainian forces managed to stop the  Russians, who were trying to break into the city.  "The situation remains quite tense. About two-thirds of the city's perimeter is occupied by the enemy, the city is in fierce defense," Stryuk said.

1.14 p.m: Russians shelled the National Guard of Ukraine military field in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing 10 Ukrainian servicemen and injuring 30-35.

Hennadiy Korban, head of the Territorial Defence of Dnipro told Dnipro TV that Russians fired an Iskander cruise missile on a military field from Rostov Oblast.

12.38 p.m: Russians currently control most of the territory of Lyman, a town in Donetsk Oblast, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Hromadske.

“Especially hot battles have been going in Lyman's direction. Ukrainian forces also lost control over the Svіtlodarska community," Kyrylenko said. "It was necessary to regroup for Ukrainian soldiers in order to take a strengthened position."

12.25 p.m: Russia's war against Ukraine might last until the end of the year, a Ukrainian intelligence official has said.

Putin sticks to his plans. So the war will drag on. It will all depend on the strength of our resistance and military aid we will get from our partners," said Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Main Intelligence Directorate.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have been trying to cut Luhansk Oblast from the rest of Ukraine.  Severodonetsk remains the place of the hardest battles. Russian saboteurs group has broken into the hotel Mir in Severodonetsk.

“We may have a hot spot - Mir Hotel. During the day, the Ukrainian servicemen have been trying to destroy a group of saboteurs that broke into the hotel. For now, we hold the line," Oleksandr Stryuk, head of Sevrodonetsk Military Administration said.

Morning digest

Overnight and early in the morning Russian invading forces shelled Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, causing serious destruction, governor Valentyn Reznicheko has said in a statement.

"There are several 'arrivals'. Serious destruction. Rescuers are dismantling the debris and looking for people," Reznichenko wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday morning, revealing no more details.

The occupiers have resumed the offensive on Slovyansk, a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian Army General Staff has reported.

In Kharkiv direction, the occupation army trains personnel for the replenishment of motorized rifle, tank, and artillery units. Russians relocate their troops from Crimea closer to Zaporizhzhya Oblast. In addition, the enemy group was further reinforced by the formed tank battalion on T-62 tanks that arrived in Melitopol the day before.

In recent days, the occupiers have made some progress in fighting and are preparing a "third line of defense" in the south of Ukraine to consolidate long-term control over the region and prepare to repel possible future Ukrainian counterattacks, Institute for War Studies has reported.

Russian troops took control of more than 95% of Luhansk Oblast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed the Russian offensive can turn Donbas into a desert region. The occupiers want to turn Popasna, Bakhmut, Lyman, Lysychansk, and Severodonetsk into scorched earth as they did with Volnovakha and Mariupol earlier.

Read also: Russians intensify attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast, shell Kharkiv, killing seven (UPDATED)

Although Russians have already lost more than 1000 tanks and 29,700 soldiers killed in action in Ukraine they still outnumber Ukrainian troops and have much more resources left.