West vows more arms, sanctions over new Russian offensive

Western allies on Tuesday pledged more military supplies and sanctions to assist Ukraine as its troops battle against Russian forces intensifying their offensive in the east of the country.

Ukraine's armed forces said fighting had increased throughout Donbas, and the ministry of defence reported heavy clashes including near the town of Marinka in the Donetsk region.

Responding to the new Russian push, the United States and European Union agreed to increase "Moscow's international isolation", during a virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and European leaders on Tuesday.

"We will further tighten our sanctions against Russia and step up financial and security assistance for Ukraine," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.

Russia's defence ministry said that "high-precision air-based missiles" had hit 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of Donbas while other air strikes "hit 60 military assets", including in towns close to the eastern frontline.

Biden suggested Tuesday to reporters that the United States would send more artillery -- as the latest $800 million US aid package starts to arrive in Ukraine, including 18 howitzers, 40,000 artillery rounds, 200 armoured personnel carriers and 11 helicopters.

"We will continue to provide them more ammunition as we will provide them more military assistance," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in response to fears that Ukraine was running low.

Kyiv has asked its Western partners to provide MiG-29s that its pilots already know how to fly, and which a handful of Eastern European countries have.

On Tuesday evening, the Ukrainian defence ministry reported its troops had beaten back a Russian attack in the city of Izium, south of the partly blockaded second city of Kharkiv.

It also claimed enemy losses in a Ukrainian counter-attack near the town of Marinka in Donetsk.

Control of Donbas and the besieged southern port of Mariupol would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the Crimean peninsula that it annexed in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of much of its coastline and a major revenue resource.

In its relentless battle to capture Mariupol, Moscow issued a fresh call for the city's defenders to surrender and announced the opening of a humanitarian corridor for any Ukrainian troops who agreed to lay down their arms.

"The Ukrainian flag is flying over the city"