WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden said Monday the United States would not provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kyiv expands the list of weaponry it needs to be better able to drive Russian forces from occupied territories.

Fighting continued at key points along the long front as Russian forces sought to expand their hold on territory in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin-appointed Donetsk leader, Denis Pushilin, claimed Russian forces were advancing near Vugledar, a strategically valuable town southwest of Donetsk city.

“Now we can say that units have established positions in the eastern part of Vugledar, and work is also being carried out in the vicinity,” Pushilin said, according to Russian news agencies.

But Kyiv rejected the claim, while conceding that the fighting there was tough.