The European Union and NATO are gathering a coalition for war against Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday, commenting on the granting of EU candidacy status to Ukraine and Moldova.

Speaking at a news conference in Baku following a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, Lavrov said the situation reminds the state of affairs before World War II when Adolf Hitler united most of the European countries for a war against the Soviet Union.

"When the Second World War was about to start, Hitler gathered most of the European countries under his banners. Now the EU and NATO are also gathering the same modern coalition for the fight, and by and large, for war with the Russian Federation. We will look at all this very carefully," he said.

Lavrov said that, unlike NATO, the EU is not a military organization and so membership in this structure does not pose risks to Russia.

But he also noted that the recent expansion has been carried out under the "Russophobic idea," and so Moscow will monitor if new members follow the general idea and subdue their actions to the EU demands.

Lavrov also noted that Moscow has been monitoring the steps of the EU and doubts that the bloc's "Russophobic policy" will soon dissipate.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces will retreat from Severodonetsk after weeks of fierce fighting over the key city, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday, in a major boost to Russia's goal of seizing a swathe of eastern Ukraine.

The announcement came shortly after the EU granted Ukraine candidate status in a show of support for the former Soviet republic, although there is still a long path ahead to membership.

Russia has focused its offensive on the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine after being repelled from the capital Kyiv and other areas following the February invasion. Its forces have gradually made progress despite encountering fierce resistance and sustaining heavy losses.

"Despite the growing loss of personnel and equipment, Russians continue to outnumber the (Ukrainian) defense forces in artillery" in certain areas, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, Ukraine's defense ministry spokesperson, told reporters on Friday.

"This allows them to gain some tactical success," Motuzyanyk added.

The strategically important industrial hub of Severodonetsk has been the scene of weeks of street battles as the outgunned Ukrainians put up a stubborn defense.

But Sergiy Gaiday, the governor of the Lugansk region which includes Severodonetsk, said that Ukrainian military forces in the city had received an order to withdraw.

"Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," he said on Telegram, adding that 90% of the city had been damaged.

The Ukrainians had already been pushed back from much of the city, leaving them in control of only the industrial areas.

"The Ukrainian army is still in Severodonetsk, it will take them some time to retire," head of the city's military administration Roman Vlasenko told Radio Svoboda – the Prague-based Russian-language wing of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe.

Capturing Severodonetsk and its twin city of Lysychansk would give the Russians control of Luhansk, and allow them to push further into the wider Donbass.

Gaiday said the Russians were now advancing on Lysychansk, which has been facing increasingly heavy Russian bombardment. The situation for those that remain in the city is bleak.

At a Brussels summit Thursday, EU leaders granted candidate status to Ukraine, as well as Moldova.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the news as "a unique and historic moment."

"Today it is recognized that Ukraine is not a bridge, not a pillow between the West and Russia, not a buffer between Europe and Asia, not a sphere of influence," Zelenskyy said in a video address to Ukrainians on Friday.

"Ukraine is a future equal partner for at least 27 EU countries," he added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Ukraine's new EU candidacy status as a "domestic European affair."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly resisted what Moscow sees as attempts to bring the country into NATO.

But, Ukraine's NATO aspirations are far from being realized and EU membership is at least years away.