Russian ‘double-tap’ strike on shopping centre in Ukraine kills 16 and wounds 130

 By Reuters | Posted by TOE At least 16 people were killed and more than 130 wounded on Friday when several Russian drones ‌struck a shopping centre in central Ukraine, authorities said, with President ‌Volodymyr Zelenskiy promising a response to what he called an “act of barbarism.” Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said ​that 22 children were among the wounded in the daytime attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih, which is Zelenskiy’s hometown. “There are 29 people in serious condition, including five children,” Hanzha said. He posted a photo of black ‌smoke billowing from a large ⁠industrial building. In an update early on Saturday, Hanzha said nine people were preliminarily considered missing, including two children, and ⁠that rescuers were continuing to clear the rubble of the shopping centre. Zelenskiy called the attack “absolutely cynical and despicable”, saying that a second Russian drone hit the shopping ​centre ​half an...

Russia says its forces advance in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region

 Russia said on Sunday its forces had moved forward sharply in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, taking two settlements as part of a major push aimed at taking control of the entire Zaporizhzhia region.

With a smaller army than Russia’s, Ukraine has been grappling with how to bolster defences in the Donetsk region while keeping the rest of the front stable under intense artillery and drone attack from highly mobile Russian units.

Since advancing into the Dnipropetrovsk region in late June, Russian forces have been pushing there and in the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region where they have moved forward along a relatively broad front by at least 30 km (19 miles) over the past six weeks, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken Rivnopillya, which puts the southern town of Huliaipole in danger of being the target of Russian pincer movements. It said Russian forces had also taken Mala Tokmachka, just 9 km (6 miles) from Orikhiv.

“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this village for the defence of Orikhiv,” said Yuri Podolyaka, one of Russia’s top war bloggers, adding that Mala Tokmachka was essentially “the gateway to Orikhiv”.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Ukraine’s top general said last week that fighting had worsened on parts of the Zaporizhzhia front including around the town of Huliaipole. Separately last week, Kyiv’s military said its troops had fallen back from several villages in the area.

Ukrainian soldiers and commanders say they do not have enough troops to hold many defensive positions, despite thousands of drones flying above the battlefield which make advances by either side costly.

Russia controls about 19% of Ukraine, or 115,476 square km, up just one percentage point from two years ago. Moscow wants to gain control of all of the Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the whole of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Russia says it controls about 75% of the Zaporizhzhia region which means Ukraine still holds about 7,000 square km there, including the city of Zaporizhzhia, which had a pre-war population of over 700,000 people.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/Ixc2n3r

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