Around 7,000-8,000 civilians stayed in Severodonetsk, Head of Severodonetsk Town Military and Civil Administration Oleksandr Striuk has said.

"Around 7,000-8,000 people stayed in the town. Some people are trying to come back to the town from the [Ukrainian] government-controlled territories, some are trying to leave," he told a Monday press briefing at the Ukraine media center.

The Russian invaders continue to seize housing of the local residents who had fled the town.

"They accommodate their soldiers and officers there. They are doing whatever they want in the town," Striuk said.