Ukrainian forces are running out of ammunition as Russia steps up its intense bombardment, officials said on Saturday, amid reports of street-to-street fighting in the town of Sievierodonetsk.

Vitaly Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv region on the southern front line, said Vladimir Putin’s forces were much more powerful, and asked for more international help.

“For now, this is a war of artillery ... and we are out of ammo,” he said. “The help of Europe and America is very, very important, because we just need ammo to defend our country.”

Russia has stepped up its campaign to capture cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, taking a heavy toll on Ukrainian forces.

In Sievierodonetsk – the largest town in Luhansk that Russia does not currently hold – Russian shelling of the Azot chemical plant caused a huge oil leak on Saturday that triggered a major fire.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said there was now “intense street-to-street fighting” in the town and that “both sides are suffering high numbers of casualties”.

It also said Russia was now using huge Cold War-era missiles designed to destroy aircraft carriers, because it has run out of precision rockets.

The five-and-a-half-tonne missiles were designed to carry a nuclear warhead. “When employed in a ground attack role with a conventional warhead, they are highly inaccurate and can therefore cause significant collateral damage and civilian casualties,” the MoD said.

Meanwhile, the family of one of two Britons handed the death penalty for fighting Russian forces said they were “devastated”.

Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to do “everything in their power” to secure the release of Shaun Pinner and his fellow Briton Aiden Aslin, after the pair were condemned to death in what the British government has described as a “sham” sentencing.

A statement issued on Saturday by the Foreign Office on behalf of the family of Mr Pinner, 48, said his relatives were “devastated and saddened at the outcome of the illegal show trial”.

It added: “As a Ukrainian resident for over four years and contracted serving marine in the 36th Brigade, of which he is very proud, Shaun should be accorded all the rights of a prisoner of war according to the Geneva conventions, and including full independent legal representation.

“We sincerely hope that all parties will cooperate urgently to ensure the safe release or exchange of Shaun. Our family, including his son and Ukrainian wife, love and miss him so much and our hearts go out to all the families involved in this awful situation.”

Foreign secretary Liz Truss said she had spoken with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba “to discuss efforts to secure the release of prisoners of war held by Russian proxies”.

Britain argues that Mr Aslin, from Newark in Nottinghamshire, and Mr Pinner, from Bedfordshire, are legitimate members of the Ukrainian army, and should therefore be treated as prisoners of war. A third man, Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim, was convicted alongside the Britons.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the convictions were “guided by the laws of the Donetsk People’s Republic”, the breakaway state controlled by pro-Moscow separatists.

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