Russian forces made minimal progress Monday towards capturing the major cities they covet, on the 26th day of their invasion of Ukraine.

Western sources said the attackers were consolidating their positions and bringing artillery into range of the capital Kyiv, though Ukrainian forces were hitting back with counterattacks.

Here is a summary of the situation on the ground, based on statements from both sides, Western defence and intelligence sources, and international organisations.

- The east -

Although there was little movement around the mostly encircled city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's military general staff said heavy artillery was being moved up through a neighbouring region of Russia.

Over the weekend, the defenders said they inflicted heavy casualties on the Russians while repelling an assault on the city of Izyum.

That city would be a key link in the chain if Russia aims -- as many analysts believe -- to encircle Ukrainian forces in the country's east.

Along the previous front line with Russia-backed separatists, the Ukrainian army reported attacks "along the entire line of contact", and said that all had been repulsed.

The city of Sumy further to the north and close to the Russian border is also encircled.

A Ukrainian foreign ministry official on Monday accused Russian forces of forcibly removing thousands of children from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

- Kyiv and the north -

Russians have been reinforcing their positions around capital, which has not yet been fully surrounded. Ukraine said the attackers were laying mines around their lines for the first time in the conflict.

Britain's defence ministry said there was "heavy fighting" to the north of the city, with forces advancing from the northeast "stalled" and from the northwest "repulsed by fierce Ukrainian resistance".

Inside the capital, Russian bombardments razed a shopping mall overnight from Sunday to Monday. Prosecutors said eight people were killed.

Kyiv city authorities declared a new curfew lasting from Monday evening to Wednesday morning.

In Chernihiv meanwhile, which is encircled by Russian troops, the Ukrainian army accused the Russians of shelling civilian areas.

- The south -

Russia continued its siege of the port city of Mariupol, a key Russian target to link up the annexed Crimea and separatist-controlled Donbas regions.

They made little territorial gains but shelled targets heavily, with Western analysts saying the besiegers had used devastating thermobarbic explosives.

The Russian authorities meanwhile said that a deputy commander of its Black Sea Fleet had been killed in the city.

Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants are believed to remain in Mariupol, which has no running water or heating and where food is running short.

But local authorities said the defenders had rejected a Russian ultimatum calling on them to lay down their arms.

Mariupol officials also said occupying forces had forcibly transported around a thousand residents to Russia and stripped them of their Ukrainian passports -- a possible war crime.

Russian forces earlier in the campaign took the city of Kherson just north of Crimea, the only major city they have captured so far.

Although Russian troops are trying to push west along Ukraine's Black Sea coast towards Odessa, they have so far failed to encircle the city of Mykolayiv that stands in the way.

Ukraine's general staff said Russian ships targeted Mykolayiv with missiles on Sunday.

- The west and centre -

After deadly airstrikes in Ukraine's west last week, there have been no reports of significant military action in the region or around Dnipro.

- Casualties -

According to the office for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 925 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including 75 children.

Moscow has given no toll for casualties among its armed forces in recent days.

Ukraine says around 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. Western sources generally give a lower figure but still numbering several thousand.

The authorities have not updated the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the fighting since President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a week ago that around 1,300 were dead.

- Refugees -

The UN says almost 3.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, with more than two million of them heading to neighbouring Poland.

A total of 10 million are believed to have fled their homes, according to the world body, representing over a quarter of the population in regions under government control.