Russia’s defence ministry says its forces now control two more settlements in eastern Ukraine; Kyiv says ‘heinous’ attack kills three in capital. What we know on day 1,061
Russian forces took control of two more settlements in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Moscow said on Saturday, the latest in a series of gains it has reported in its steady advance westward. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were now in control of Petropavlivka, a village between the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, focal points in fighting in recent months in the area. It also noted the capture of Vremivka, one of a cluster of small towns farther south in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian military statements made no mention of either of the two villages changing hands, but referred to heavy fighting near the key city of Pokrovsk.
A Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital killed three people on Saturday, Ukrainian leaders said, calling it a “heinous” attack, while Moscow described it as “retaliation”. Ukrainian officials said another three people were killed in Russian strikes elsewhere in the country, and Moscow claimed fresh advances on the ground. Kyiv officials said the victims were two men, aged 43 and 25, and a 41-year-old woman, while AFP reported a multi-storey building with windows blown out, debris strewn across the street, flooding, and the charred facade of a damaged McDonald’s outlet. The office of Ukraine’s general prosecutor said in a statement that the casualties included a security guard at a food establishment and people who were in a minibus on the street.
The Russian foreign ministry said Ukraine and Britain “had no room” for cooperation in the Sea of Azov, commenting on a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London the two countries’ leaders announced on Thursday. “Any claims to this water area are a gross interference in the internal affairs of our country and will be firmly resisted,” spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on the ministry’s website. The Azov Sea is bordered by south-west Russia, parts of southern Ukraine that Russia has seized in the war, and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia on Saturday to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along Nato’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the western defence alliance. Latvia borders Russia to its east and Russia ally Belarus to its south-east. Tensions are high across central Europe due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Sweden’s armed forces said the mission of 550 troops “marks Sweden’s largest commitment yet since joining Nato” last year.
Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles in the early hours of Saturday, according to Ukraine’s air force. Ukrainian air defence forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, the statement said.
Industrial sites in Russia’s Kaluga and Tula regions were set ablaze by Ukrainian drone attacks, local officials said on Saturday. Russia’s defence ministry said 46 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed across the country overnight.