Ukraine today ordered vulnerable people to leave the city of Kupyansk on the northeastern front, as it is under threat of being captured by Russian forces, the military administration said.
"Mandatory evacuation of families with children and residents whose movement has been reduced has begun in the town of Kupyansk due to the constant bombardment of the territory by Russian forces," stated the military administration of the Kharkiv region.
The Governor of Kharkiv Oblast, Oleg Sinegubov, said that Russian forces targeted several places with multiple rocket launchers, including Kupyansk.
The town, which is located about one hundred kilometers from Kharkiv, had almost 30.000 inhabitants before the war. It was occupied by Russian troops in the first days of the invasion a year ago. The Ukrainians recaptured the city in September in a blitz counteroffensive.
However, the Russian forces, reinforced by the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists in Russia, went on the attack in that sector, which causes the fears of many locals.
At least four people were killed and eight were injured in this morning's rocket attack in the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporozhye.
The Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Ukraine announced that five more people are considered missing, including a child, Anadolia reports.
"The Russian rocket destroyed a five-story building, while the debris and the shock wave damaged nearby skyscrapers, as well as residents' vehicles," the statement said.
Investigators are on the ground, and the search and rescue operation is ongoing.
In an earlier announcement by the Ukrainian police, it was stated that more than ten apartments from the second to the fifth floor of the building were destroyed.
The head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, said that at least 20 people had been evacuated from the area.
"The terrorist state wants to turn every day into a day of terror for our people. But evil will not reign in our country. We will drive out all the occupiers and they will certainly be responsible for everything," announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Zelensky on Telegram.
According to the latest United Nations data, more than 8,1 civilians have been killed in the Russian-Ukrainian war so far, while around 13,5 have been wounded.
(MINE)
The majority of the G20 members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, and only Russia and China disagreed with it, announced the chairman India, after the meeting of the G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi.
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The Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) announced that the situation in the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, is "under control", RIA Novosti reports, citing Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that a group of Ukrainians shot civilians in what he called a "terrorist act" near Russia's border with Ukraine. Kiev, however, rejected those claims, emphasizing that it was a "provocation" by Moscow.
Moscow announced today that Ukrainian saboteurs entered the territory of western Russia and attacked villagers, which Kiev denies and warns that the Kremlin can use these claims as justification for stronger attacks in its war.
It is not yet known what happened in the Brjanska region and it is unclear what the strategic purpose of such an attack could be.
That case may indicate that Kiev, after this week's drone attack on Russian soil, is stepping up pressure on Moscow and exposing the weaknesses of Russian defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukrainian "terrorists" for invading Russian territory and deliberately attacking civilians, including children.
"This is another terrorist attack, another crime. The attackers invaded an area near the border and shot at civilians," Putin said.
Russian "hawks" expressed dissatisfaction that Putin did not declare a state of emergency and general mobilization of soldiers because of this.
Putin said the attack, which he blamed on "neo-Nazis," as he usually calls Ukrainian authorities, confirmed that Russia had done the right thing when it launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
"I repeat once again: they will not succeed and we will end by suppressing them," the Russian president said.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitriy Peskov, when asked by journalists whether the attack in Bryansk could justify a change in the status of the conflict, replied that "it is still too early to know."
The adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mihail Podolyak, called the Russian reports on the attack "a classic deliberate provocation" on Twitter today.
He wrote that Russia "wants to scare its people to justify its attack on another country and growing poverty after a year of war" and alluded that the attack in Russia was carried out by Russian fighters.
(BETA)
Russian forces are fighting a Ukrainian sabotage group in the Bryansk region of Russia, which borders Ukraine, the Tass news agency reported.
As reported by Reuters, the information was provided by security agencies.
The leaders of China and Belarus, Xi Jinping and Alexander Lukashenko, have expressed an extremely high interest in a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
Lukashenko said Belarus "fully supports" Beijing's plan to end the war in Ukraine.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged China not to send weapons to aid Russia's war in Ukraine and asked Beijing to pressure Moscow to withdraw its forces.
In a speech to the German parliament, Scholz said it was disappointing that Beijing had refrained from condemning Russia's invasion, although he welcomed its efforts towards nuclear de-escalation.
"My message to Beijing is clear, use your influence in Moscow to encourage the withdrawal of Russian troops," Scholz said, according to Reuters.
"And don't deliver any weapons to aggressor Russia," he pointed out.
Scholz's remarks highlighted how the international response to the war in Ukraine has highlighted global divisions, with China and India refraining from condemning the Russian invasion.
At least two people were killed in a Russian attack on a residential building in Zaporozhye, in the south of Ukraine, local authorities announced.
"People are under the rubble. According to preliminary information, two people have died," Zaporozhye city official Anatoly Kurtev told Telegram.
He added that the building was "practically completely destroyed" in the attack.
The Russian army announced that they are preparing for new attacks in central Zaporozhye and on the southern front in the Kherson region.
As Reuters reports, more than 40 towns and villages were shelled, including the regional center of Kherson and other towns on the west bank of the Dnieper River.
Ukrainian forces have maintained their positions in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which is under constant attack by Russian troops.
The Russians claim that capturing Bakhmut would pave the way for full control of the rest of the strategic industrial region of Donbass, which is one of the main goals of its invasion a year ago, on February 24.
The Ukrainian military general staff announced in its regular morning report from the front that the enemy continues to advance towards Bakhmut and is "storming the city", reports Reuters.
It is added that the Ukrainians repelled the attacks in Bakhmut and other settlements in the Donetsk region, which were under fire.
Ukraine claims that Bahmut has limited strategic value, but that they are still putting up fierce resistance. However, not everyone in Ukraine is convinced that the defense of the city can last forever.
"I believe that sooner or later we will probably have to leave Bakhmut. It makes no sense to hold on to it at all costs," Ukrainian parliament member Sergei Rachmanin said on NV radio late Wednesday.
"But at the moment, Bahmut will be defended with several goals - first, to inflict as many losses as possible on Russia and force them to use their ammunition and resources," Rahmanin added, stressing that no line of defense should collapse.
The battle for Bahmut began about seven months ago, but in recent weeks a three-pronged Russian advance has left the defenders with only an exit to the west.
The 371st day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has begun, you can watch the significant events of Tuesday at the link below.
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