At least 10 people have been reported killed
in fresh Russian attacks on two Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk.
General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who leads
Ukraine’s military operations in the south, said troops from the Tavria, or southern group of forces, were “carrying on with their offense” as part of a planned advance towards the Sea of Azov.
Russian shelling around Avdiivka eased, but
authorities said they expected Russia to escalate its assault on the front-line town in the coming days. Russian forces now control territory to the east, north and south of Avdiivka, gradually tightening the noose in a bid to push Ukrainian forces further from eastern Donetsk.
Russia shot down two missiles over Crimea, the
peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Regional governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said one of the missiles was brought down over Sevastopol, home of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. He said the missile had detonated in a field, and that there had been no injuries or damage to infrastructure.
Speaking at a press conference Putin said that
the United States had made a mistake by providing Kyiv with long-range ATACMS missiles. He said the supply of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) would only “prolong the agony” for Ukraine. “We will, of course, be able to repel these attacks. War is
war,” Putin said.
While on a visit to North Korea, Russia’s
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for its “unwavering and principled support”
over the war in Ukraine and pledged Moscow’s “complete support and solidarity” for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,
Meanwhile a bill revoking Russia’s ratification
of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty had its second and third readings in the lower house Duma and was passed by 415 votes to zero. It will now go to the upper house for approval, and Putin for signing.
Ukraine has since urged the international community to respond to what it described as Moscow’s “provocations” in the area of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
