Eleven people have been killed in two regions of Ukraine in Russian shelling and five in Ukrainian fire in Russia in the last 24 hours, the respective authorities of the two countries said on Sunday. In the Ukrainian region of Donetsk (east), where most of the fighting is taking place, seven people have died since Saturday in Kostyantynivka, Toretsk and Kotlyn, according to the governor Vadym Filachkin.
Key information to remember
⇒ Explosions heard in kyiv
⇒ Ukraine: Reuters employee killed
⇒ kyiv says Belarus is “massing” troops on the border
Explosions heard in kyiv
At least seven explosions rang out over the Ukrainian capital kyiv on Monday morning, AFP journalists reported, as a national alert against Russian air attacks was in effect.
Telegram channels reported explosions in other parts of the country, including in the northwestern city of Lutsk, where officials said an attack damaged a residential building.
Ukraine: Reuters employee killed
A security adviser working with Reuters journalists was killed in a missile strike on their hotel in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday, the news agency said on Sunday, after a deadly weekend in the country and Russia. The man “was part of the Reuters team staying at the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk […] when it was hit by a missile strike,” the agency said in a statement on X, saying it was “devastated” by the news.
“Two of our journalists are in hospital; one is being treated for serious injuries,” Reuters added, specifying that three other colleagues were unharmed.
Zelensky claims Ukrainian “advances” in Russia’s Kursk region
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday claimed “advances” in the Russian region of Kursk and the capture of two villages, more than two weeks after launching an offensive.
“I just spoke to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, and there are advances of our troops in the Kursk region. From one to three kilometers. We have taken control of two more villages,” Zelensky said in his daily message, adding that fighting was “underway in another village.”
kyiv says Belarus ‘massing’ troops on border
Ukraine on Sunday accused its neighbor Belarus, a close ally of Russia, of “massing” troops on their border and warned Minsk against possible “unfriendly acts.” The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had noticed that Belarus was “massing a significant number of troops” […] in the Gomel region, near the northern border of Ukraine, under the cover of maneuvers.”
“We warn Belarusian officials not to make a tragic mistake under pressure from Moscow, and we urge its armed forces to stop their unfriendly actions and withdraw forces from the Ukrainian border to a distance beyond the firing range of Belarusian systems,” Ukrainian diplomacy added in a statement.