Watch: Ukraine releases new video, claims it shows attack on Russian military equipment

Ukraine's National Guard released video footage on Saturday claiming to show a strike on Russian military equipment near Izyum in the Kharkiv region.

No information on when the video was filmed was given.

Ukraine’s General Staff says Russia is increasing the pace of its offensive in the east of the country, the goal of which is to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and have a land corridor to Crimea.

An update Thursday claimed more forces have been moved to the city of Izyum.

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Hundreds of people were arriving in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday after being evacuated from the nearby village of Ruska Lozova.

The village had been under Russian occupation for more than a month.

Almost half the village escaped in buses, in shrapnel-damaged cars or on foot, after fierce battles saw Russian troops pushed back and Ukraine take full control of the village, according to the Kharkiv regional governor.

A video posted by Ukraine's Azov battalion showed troops raising the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag over the government building in the center of the village, though fighting continued on the outskirts.

Upon arrival to Kharkiv, less than 20 kilometres (12 miles) away, those who fled described the dire conditions they faced.

"We were hiding in the basement, it was horrific. The basement was shaking from the explosions, we were screaming, we were crying and we were praying to God," said resident Ludmila Bocharnikova.

Getting a full picture of the unfolding battle in the east has been difficult because airstrikes and artillery barrages have made it extremely dangerous for reporters to move around.

Several journalists have been killed in the war.

Both Ukraine and the Moscow-backed rebels fighting in the east also have introduced tight restrictions on reporting from the combat zone.