Russia’s Ukraine war latest news: Russia advances in Ukrainian cities while the Kursk Kyiv push slows

A Russian airstrike in the Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar on Saturday killed five people, as they hit high-rise buildings and private homes, regional governor Vadym Filaskhin said.

The victims were men aged 24 to 38, he added.

“Normal life has not been possible in Chasiv Yar for more than two years. Do not be a target of Russia – evacuate,” wrote Filaskhin on social media.

Two others were killed by a Russian attack in Kharkiv. One victim was pulled from the rubble in Cherkaska Lozova, and a woman died of injuries on the way to hospital, governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Business in allied countries is expected to increase when the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) comes into effect.

Ukraine launched five drones overnight in Russia’s Tver region northwest of the Moscow region, regional governor Igor Rudenya said.

“According to preliminary information, there are no injuries. Emergency services are on the scene,” said Rudenya on Telegram, speaking about the city of Konakovo. Russia claims to have destroyed all five drones.

Reuters reported that several other Russian Telegram channels reported a loud explosion near the Konakovo Power Station, one of the largest energy producers in central Russia.

Ukraine launched overnight drone strikes on Moscow and several other targets in Russia today, regional officials said.

This comes as Kyiv continues to press the US for permission to use weapons provided by its allies to strike targets deeper inside Russia.

At least five drones flying to Moscow were destroyed in the area around the Russian capital, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

At least 26 drones fired by Ukraine were destroyed in the border region of Bryansk in southwestern Russia, governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.

More than 10 drones were destroyed in Voronezh, and some came down in the Kursk, Lipetsk, Ryazan and Tula regions, the governor reported on Telegram.

Initial information said there were no injuries or damage from the attack.

Russian forces have been driving deeper into the partially occupied eastern region, whose total capture is one of the Kremlin’s main ambitions.

At the same time, Ukraine has sent its troops into Russia’s Kursk region in recent weeks in the biggest offensive on Russian soil since World War II.

The move is an attempt to force Russia to pull troops away from the Donetsk front.

Elsewhere, the number of wounded after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday continued to rise.

Six people were killed, including a 14-year-old girl, when bombs hit five locations across the city, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Writing on social media on Saturday, he said the number of injured had risen from 47 to 96.

Mr. Syniehubov also confirmed that the 12-story apartment block hit by the bomb attack, which flattened the building and trapped at least one person on the top floor, will be partially demolished.

Ukrainian officials have previously pointed to the Kharkiv attack as further evidence that Western partners need to limit what Ukraine’s military can target with donated weapons.

Washington has provided more than $50 billion in military aid to Ukraine since 2022, but has limited the use of weapons on Ukrainian soil and defensive cross-border operations.

Zelensky said a guided aerial bomb killed six people and wounded 97 in Kharkiv on Friday, with another attack on Friday. This can only be prevented “by attacking Russian military airfields, bases, and Russian terror logistics.”

In a nightly video speech, he said, “We talk about this every day with our partners. We persuade. We give arguments.

He said clearing Ukrainian skies of Russian-guided aerial bombs would be “a powerful step to pressure Russia to seek an end to the war and a just peace.”

Calling on the United States, Britain, France and Germany, he said, “We need the ability to protect Ukraine and Ukraine properly and completely.

“We need permission for your long-range capabilities and your long-range shells and missiles.”

Without giving specifics, he said the representative had “provided all the necessary details” to his Ukrainian counterpart.

Russia’s defense ministry said it had captured the town of Pivnichne, also in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Russian forces have been driving deeper into the partially occupied eastern region, whose total capture is one of the Kremlin’s main ambitions.

Russian troops are closing in on Pokrovsk, a critical logistical hub for Ukraine’s defense in the region.

At the same time, Ukraine has sent its troops into Russia’s Kursk region in recent weeks in the biggest offensive on Russian soil since World War II. The move is an attempt to force Russia to pull troops away from the Donetsk front.

Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legal and protected by Kyiv’s right to self-defense, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly Welt am Sonntag in his first reaction to the advance into Russian territory.

“Ukraine has the right to defend itself. And according to international law, this right does not stop at the border,” Stoltenberg said in the newspaper, adding that NATO had not been informed of Ukraine’s plans in advance and had no role.

The NATO chief said Ukraine was taking a risk by advancing into Russian territory, but it was up to Kyiv how it conducted its military campaign.

“(Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy has clarified that the operation aims to create a buffer zone to prevent Russian attacks further from the border,” he said.

“Like all military operations, there are risks. But it is Ukraine’s decision how to defend itself.

Kyiv launched a major cross-border offensive into the Kursk region on August 6, while Moscow’s forces continued to advance on the strategic center of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

The strikes were also discussed at Wednesday’s NATO-Ukraine-Council meeting called by Kyiv amid Moscow’s biggest ever wave of airstrikes on its neighbor.

The council, bringing together members of the Western military alliance and Ukraine, was established last year to enable closer coordination between the alliance and Kyiv.

Russia called the Kursk operation a “major provocation” and said it would retaliate.

Five people were killed and 46 wounded in a Ukrainian attack in the southwestern Russian city of Belgorod on Friday, the local governor said.

Vyacheslav Gladkov also said that 37 people, including seven children, were taken to hospital.

A video from the car’s dashboard, which was posted on social media and showed the attack, showed another car being blown up while it was moving on the road. Seconds later an explosion was seen on the other side of the road.

Ukraine has carried out frequent attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border areas in recent months.

Ukraine and Russia say they have inadvertently targeted civilians in a war that began when Russia sent thousands of troops to its smaller neighbor in February 2022. Moscow calls the invasion a “special military operation”.