According to Ukrainian officials, Russian shelling has killed at least eight civilians and injured 25 others in eastern Ukraine during the last 24 hours. Pro-Russian separatists claimed that four civilians were killed in attacks by Ukrainian forces.
According to the Ukrainian presidential office, Russian forces attacked cities and villages in the country’s southeast. The majority of civilian casualties occurred in Donetsk, where Russia has intensified its offensive in recent times.
Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko stated in Telegram that two people were killed in Avdiivka. This city is in the middle of the province. The Donetsk cities Sloviansk Krasnohorivka, Kurakhove and Sloviansk each reported one civilian dead.
He wrote, "Every crime will get punished."
Kyrylenko called on the more than 350,000 residents of the province to leave late Tuesday. He stated that Donetsk evacuation was necessary in order to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army to better defend against Russian advances.
Donetsk, which is part of the Donbas region in western Ukraine, is where some of the most skilled soldiers from Ukraine are located. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Monday the total seizing of Luhansk province in the Donbas, after Ukrainian troops retreated from the city.
Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai denied Wednesday the Russians had seized the entire province. He said that heavy fighting continued in the villages around Lysychansk. The city was occupied by Ukrainian soldiers who withdrew on Sunday.
Haidai stated that while the Russians paid a heavy price, the Luhansk area is still not completely captured by the Russian army. "Some settlements were overrun several times by each side."
He accused Russian forces, accusing them of using scorched-earth tactics and "burning down or destroying everything they come across."
Holly Williams, a senior correspondent for CBS News, reported that Russia continues to bombard civilian areas in Ukraine. This includes a recent missile strike which killed Vera Maksimenko, a retired schoolteacher.
An airstrike struck her home in Serhiivka, causing her death. Officials in Ukraine claim that it was a Soviet-era missile meant to destroy warships.
She was a teacher for 37 years. Williams was told by a friend that she loved the children, but that evil people had come to America and killed her.
Dmitriy, her son, said that Russia is a terrorist country. He doesn't want to take revenge. He does not want to see any more violence. Williams told him that he didn't need to be killed. "I want justice."
Officials from Ukraine claim that they are investigating the strike as war crime.
Haidai stated that Lysychansk has 15,000 remaining residents, while the city of Sievierodonetsk is home to 8,000. These cities were seized by Russian and separatist fighters last month.
For eight years, pro-Russian separatists fought Ukrainian forces and ruled large swathes of the Donbas. Putin recognized the independence and self-proclaimed separatist republics of the region before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Separatist authorities in Donetsk stated Wednesday that four civilians had been killed and 14 more were injured in the Ukrainian shelling of the last 24 hours. According to news reports, shelling exploded at an ammunition depot Tuesday afternoon, prompting massive explosions.
Moscow's offensive has been focused on the Donbas, the last remaining areas held by the Ukrainians, after Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
The Russian forces struck Kharkiv to the north of Donetsk with missile strikes overnight. This was according to the Kharkiv regional governor, who spoke Wednesday via Telegram.
Governor. Oleh Syniehubov stated. According to the governor, one person was killed and three others, including a toddler sustained injuries.
A missile hit a building that houses military registration. The building that houses the government was next to it survived, but people just a few steps away viewed the rubble in passing.
First responders sifted through the rubble of an overnight attack on Kharkiv's national teaching university. The breeze blew pages of textbooks.
The Russian border is close to the city so it is likely that the city will not be spared as the war continues into its fifth month.
According to Russia's Defense Ministry, its forces destroyed four armored vehicles and killed 100 Ukrainian soldiers in Kharkiv. They also struck an air-defense radar in Ukraine and a camp that housed foreign fighters in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine.
Igor Konashenkov (the chief spokesperson for the ministry) stated that air-launched precision missiles also destroyed two HIMARS multi-launch rocket systems sent by the U.S. to Ukraine. In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian military called Moscow's claims "false" and denied them.
Other developments
* Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated that the 27-nation European Union must make emergency plans in order to plan for a complete cut-off in Russian gas following the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. The EU has already placed sanctions against Russia, including some energy supplies. It is now trying to find alternative sources. Von der Leyen stated that the bloc must be prepared for disruptions from Moscow.
* European Union legislators voted in favor of a plan by its executive commission to include nuclear power and natural gas in its list sustainable activities. The EU was accused by environmentalists of "greenwashing". One reason for rejecting the proposal is that it could increase gas sales to Russia. According to the European Commission, it received a support letter from Ukraine backing its position.
Russian media reported that a court ordered that a pipeline carrying oil from Kazakhstan to Europe be halted for 30 day because of environmental violations. A court in Russia's south, Novorossiysk, cited results from a recent inspection of Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Kazakh leader Kassym Jomart Tokayev said Tuesday to Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, that Kazakhstan is ready to tap its hydrocarbon resources to stabilize the global and European markets.
* A high ranking Russian official warned that the United States could be subject to the "wrath God" if it fails to establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev (the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council) denounced the U.S. because it tried to spread chaos and destruction throughout the world in the name of "true democracy".
