These figures could not be independently verified, but the fits descriptions from both sides of an escalating campaign of close-contact trench warfare in Ukraine’s east.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked parliament for approving his proposed candidates and called for an end to “rumours or any other pseudo-information” that could undermine unity.

Ukraine’s top national security official, Oleksiy Danilov, has said he is confident his country will eventually receive US-made F-16 fighter jets.

Zelenskiy was reported to be planning a trip to Brussels this Thursday to meet EU leaders in person at a summit and address the European parliament in an extraordinary session.

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has warned that western arms supplies to Ukraine are effectively “dragging” Nato into the conflict, which could lead to an “unpredictable level of escalation”.

In remarks during a conference call with military officials, quoted by state-owned Tass news agency, of “trying to prolong the conflict as much as possible” by supplying Kyiv with what he described as “heavy offensive weapons”.