War in Ukraine: The bombing does not stop
Russia has attacked several towns in southern Ukraine with drones. Blasts in Odessa and Krivoi Rog have caused new casualties, damaged critical infrastructure and residential neighbourhoods. Kiev says its military is advancing "slowly but consistently" in a counter-offensive. At the same time, President Volodimir Zelenski has again called for his country to become a full member of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Russian air strikes hit the centre of Herson at dawn, blowing a hole in an office building and scattering debris in the street.
"It's scary, for the first time I see them hitting the city centre with a missile. We lived under occupation for a long time and people adapt to terrible things rather than good things and that's not good. As you can see, they bomb us regularly," says an eyewitness.
Russian long-range bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets launched missiles from the Black Sea. In the Nikolaev region, port infrastructure has been targeted, despite agreements to resume grain shipments from Ukrainian ports. Russian cruise missiles also struck the town of Krivoi Rog, where President Zelensky was born. Two industrial complexes and gas pipelines were damaged. Explosions also occurred in Kharkov and Odessa, where all 13 enemy-launched Shahed drones were destroyed.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting is raging in eastern and southern Ukraine, particularly near Bahmut, where Ukrainians say they have made some progress. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Ukrainian counteroffensive is slowly progressing along three tracks.
Although Russian troops have stepped up their attacks and densely mined the fields to stop the counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces are "advancing with confidence," Kiev authorities say. In the meantime, Volodimir Zelenski is again calling for his country to join NATO quickly.
"This is the exact moment when Russian assumptions that anyone in NATO is still afraid of Russia must be completely dispelled. Such assumptions fuel Russia's aggressive ambitions. We must and can neutralise them," said Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.
President Zelenski also spoke about preparations for a conference on Ukraine's reconstruction to be hosted by London. He said his concern is to rebuild every ruin. On the other side, Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Crimean peninsula with nine drones, which were intercepted and shot down without causing any casualties or major damage.
There were also explosions in the enemy-occupied city of Donetsk. And in the Russian region of Rostov, the Novocherkassk power plant caught fire. According to residents, an explosion was heard before the fire. The flames covered an area of over 200 square metres.
