New barrage of Russian shelling killed at least 10 Ukrainian civilians and injured 20 others in one day, said the office of the Ukrainian president. Regional officials said towns and villages in the east and south that are within range of Russian artillery have suffered the most. Six people died in Donetsk region, two in Kherson and two in Kharkiv region, officials said.
A day earlier, Russian-fired self-propelled missiles and drones reportedly struck deeper in Ukrainian territory, killing at least 11 people.
Ukrainian troops have been locked in ‘fierce’ fighting with Russian forces Friday for the control of the city of Vugledar, southwest of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Both sides claimed success in the small administrative center, a short distance from the strategic takeover of the village of Pavlivka, Agence France-Presse reported. «Soon Vugledar could become a very important new success for us,» Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed head of the Donetsk region, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. But Kyiv said the city remained contested.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the situation on the front line as «extremely serious», especially in the eastern region of Donetsk, where Russia is stepping up its offensive. The Ukrainian president reported major battles for Vuhledar and Bakhmut in the northeast. Local Ukrainian officials reported heavy shelling in the north, northeast and east.
The Ukrainian army claims to have killed 109 Russian soldiers and wounded 188 others in one day during fighting around Vuhledar. Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said the death toll was recorded on Thursday, adding: “Fierce fighting continues. The enemy is indeed trying to achieve intermediate success there, but thanks to the efforts of our defenders, they fail.
Poland will send 60 more tanks to Ukraine in addition to the 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks he has already promised, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told CTV News.
A total of 321 heavy tanks have been pledged to Ukraine by several countries, the Ukrainian ambassador to France said. friday. Vadym Omelchenko told French TV channel BFM that «delivery conditions vary for each case and we need this help as soon as possible», without specifying the number of tanks per country.
Belgium has announced an additional €93.6m ($104.7m/£84.5m) military aid package for Ukraine in what Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said was – including previous expenditures – the largest of its kind that Belgium has ever granted to any other country.
Ukraine announces creation of drone assault companies within his armed forces which will be equipped with Starlink satellite communications, as he pursues the idea of building a «drone army», Reuters reported. Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi approved the creation of the units as part of a project that would involve several ministries and agencies, the general staff said.
Ten regions of Ukraine implement emergency power cuts due to a shortage of electricity on the network after the Russian attacks on Thursday, the Ukrainian state broadcaster reported. Repairs to damaged facilities are continuing.
The Kremlin says Joe Biden has the key to ending the conflict in Ukraine by ordering Kyiv to settle, but didn’t want to use it. «The key to the Kyiv regime is largely in Washington’s hands,» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. «We now see that the current head of the White House (…) does not want to use this key. On the contrary, he chooses the path of sending additional weapons to Ukraine. Russian ministry spokeswoman of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, accused Washington of engaging in a «hybrid war» against Moscow.
European Union wants swift accountability for ‘horrific’ crimes in Ukraine, EU justice ministers said at a meeting in Stockholm. But member states disagree on how to prosecute, seek evidence or fund reparations for war damage. .
Hungary will veto any European Union sanctions against Russia over nuclear energy, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told state radio on Friday.
Russia violates ‘fundamental principles of child protection’ in wartime by giving Ukrainian children Russian passports and offering them up for adoption, said the head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi.