Ukraine pleads for air defence as Russia turns sights on Lysychansk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday urged Western leaders to supply anti-aircraft defence systems to his embattled nation as Russian forces assaulted Lysychansk, the last big city still held by Ukrainian troops in eastern Luhansk province.

Addressing the Group of Seven summit in the Bavarian Alps via video link, Zelenskiy also asked for help to export grain from Ukraine and for more sanctions on Russia, a European official said.

As the leaders met, Russian forces were bombarding Lysychansk, the Kremlin's immediate battlefield target following the fall of neighbouring Sievierodonetsk over the weekend.

Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said the city was suffering "catastrophic" damage from the shelling and he urged civilians to urgently evacuate.

"The situation in the city is very difficult," Gaidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Prior to his address to G7 leaders meeting in the resort of Schloss Elmaua, Zelenskiy had stressed the urgency of the need for more arms.

"Partners need to move faster if they are really partners, not observers. Delays with the weapons transfers to our state, any restrictions - this is actually an invitation for Russia to hit again and again," he said in the latest of the daily messages with which he rallies his compatriots.

A senior U.S. official said the G7 countries would commit to a new package of coordinated actions toraise pressure on Russia and will finalize plans for a price cap on Russian oil.

A European official said that as well as the air defence systems, Zelenskiy had asked for security guarantees in his address to the G7.

The leaders will make a long-term security commitment to provide Ukraine with financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support, for "as long as it takes", including advanced weapons, the White House said.

The United States is likely to announce this week the purchase of advanced medium to long range surface-to-air missile defence for Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. 

U.S. President Joe Biden had earlier told allies "we have to stay together" against Russia in the face of its assault on Ukraine, now in its fifth month.

Sanctions have effectively cut Russia out of the global financial system but the war has created difficulties for countries way beyond Russia's borders, with curtailed food and energy supplies hitting the global economy. 

These also include Ukrainian grain exports, now trapped in ports, which normally feed millions of people across the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no sign of changing course as his troops battled to pick off another Ukrainian city.