An EU official said the European Council aims to reach a political agreement on the Russian oil embargo on Monday

The Ukrainian military reported progress during its counterattack in the south and continued efforts to halt the Russian advance in East Donbass region.

On Monday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported additional Russian efforts to weaken Ukrainian defenses in Luhansk and Donetsk, saying that artillery, air strikes and missiles were used in several places – including Lysichansk and Solidar.

Russian pressure continues on Severodonetsk, a city where two-thirds of its property has been reported destroyed – with the General Staff saying hostilities continue in and around the city.

As the Russians attack the Ukrainian lines in the Donbass from the south, east, and north, there are conflicting claims about their advance.

The General Staff said fighting was continuing around the village of Komishovakha, southwest of Severodonetsk. A social media video mapped by CNN shows a geography of a Chechen unit in the village, with drone footage indicating the withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers from the area. A Chechen commander says: “This area is now under our control, and we will begin to storm all fronts. We have completely captured Komichovakha.”

Ukraine reported some success in its offensive in the south, which began over the weekend. The General Staff said, “The enemy suffered losses and withdrew from the village of Mykolaivka in the Kherson region, which led to a state of panic among soldiers of other units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.”

If the Russian troops withdraw from Mykolaivka, it will be a gain of several kilometers for the Ukrainian units.

The General Staff reported on the continued cross-border shelling of settlements in the northern regions of Chernihiv and Sumy, as well as the shelling of lands north of the city of Kharkiv recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

Serhiy Heidi, head of the Luhansk region’s military administration, said late Monday that while all parts of the Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control are under attack, “the situation in Severodonetsk is really more difficult.”

The official noted that the Russian forces managed to “break into the territory from the outskirts of the city where the Mir Hotel is located, and go a little deeper into the city. And in the city now, there are street battles and they will break out.”

CNN’s Kostan Nechyporenko contributed reporting for this post.